A review of the genus Platydialepis Haupt (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) of China, with description of four new species and key to the species

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  A review of the genus Platydialepis Haupt (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) of China, with description of four new species and key to the species Abstract The genus Platydialepis Haupt is a small genus of Pompilidae . Its members hunt spiders for larval provisioning. Studying this genus helps further enhance the understanding of biodiversity within this genus. The genus Platydialepis Haupt from China is reviewed. Four new species, Platydialepis bidentata Cui, Li & Ma, sp. nov ., P. flavipectoralis Cui, Li & Ma, sp. nov ., P. frontimaculata Cui, Li & Ma, sp. nov ., and P. prominula Cui, Li & Ma, sp. nov . are described. Additionally, P. ryoheii (Ishikawa, 1957) is reported as a first record from China. A key to Chinese species of the genus Platydialepis is provided. Cui J, Li Q, Ma L (2026) A review of the genus Platydialepis Haupt (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) of China, with description of four new species and key to the species. Journal of Hymenoptera Research ...

Spot the difference: on the genus Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875 in Colombia and a new related genus from Brazil and Bolivia (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

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Spot the difference: on the genus Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875 in Colombia and a new related genus from Brazil and Bolivia (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Abstract
An incongruence in palpal bulb and spermathecal morphologies between groupings of species of the genus Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875 has persisted for some time. We redefine Hapalopus based on examination of the holotype male of the type species, Hapalopus formosus Ausserer, 1875, housed in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. Three new species of Hapalopus are described from Colombia: H. guerreroi Benavides, Osorio, Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Hörweg, Brescovit & Lucas sp. nov., H. platnicki Sherwood, Gabriel, Osorio, Benavides, Peñaherrera-R., Hörweg, Brescovit & Lucas sp. nov., and H. vangoghi Osorio, Benavides, Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Hörweg, Brescovit & Lucas sp. nov. The new genus Notahapalopus Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Osorio, Benavides, Hörweg, Brescovit & Lucas gen. nov. is described to house Notahapalopus aymara (Perdomo, Panzera & Pérez-Miles, 2009) comb. nov. (type species), Notahapalopus gasci (Maréchal, 1996) comb. nov., N. parauapebas Sherwood, Gabriel, Osorio, Benavides,Peñaherrera-R., Hörweg, Brescovit & Lucas sp. nov., and N. serrapelada (Fonseca-Ferreira, Zampaulo & Guadanucci, 2017) comb. nov. Discussion on the biogeography of Hapalopus and Notahapalopus gen. nov. is also provided. Hapalopus lesleyae Gabriel, 2011 is transferred to Jambu Miglio, Perafán & Pérez-Miles, 2024 based on palpal bulb morphology, giving the new combination Jambu lesleyae comb. nov.

A special thank you to Danni Sherwood for reaching out with this publication as well as some additional information to be shared here regarding this research. She also mentions that a totally new character was discovered in theraphosids in this paper, pits on the metatarsus!

Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Osorio, L. M., Benavides, L. R., Peñaherrera-R., P., Hörweg, C., Brescovit, A. D. & Lucas, S. M. (2024b). Spot the difference: on the genus Hapalopus Ausserer, 1875 in Colombia and a new related genus from Brazil and Bolivia (Araneae: Theraphosidae). ZooNova 32: 1-44. doi:10.5281/zenodo.11458605