Looking into biological collections, pseudoscorpion researcher Catalina Romero-Ortiz found five new species and a new genus of these interesting creatures.
Colombia is a South American country full of beautiful landscapes, indigenous cultures, delicious food, and warm people. In its territory, the country hosts an amazing diversity of birds, amphibians, vascular plants, fishes, among other biological groups, which makes it one of the biodiversity hotspots on Earth. The nation’s recent steps toward peace have allowed for the exploration of regions previously off-limits due to conflict.
A map showing the location of Colombia. Screenshot from OpenStreetMap.
Of all this diversity in Colombia, pseudoscorpions, little arachnids that resemble scorpions, are very little known. They can get mistaken for mites or fleas due to their size, but are entirely harmless to humans, with their venom glands only used for hunting and self-defense. Their cryptic behaviors make them difficult to find, which in turn makes them difficult to study. For a biodiversity hotspot like Colombia, researchers expect that there are more species out there than the 63 that are already known to science.
Looking into biological collections, pseudoscorpion researcher Catalina Romero-Ortiz found five new species and a new genus of these interesting creatures. Together with Dr. Mark Harvey from the Western Australian Museum and Dr. Carlos Sarmiento from the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales of the National University of Colombia, they recently described those findings in the scientific journal ZooKeys. They also proposed a new classification for a species that was only known by its description, contributing to the broader understanding of pseudoscorpions in Colombia. The star of their research is the newfound genus Paciwithius.
Newly described pseudoscorpion species: A Paciwithius chimbilacus, B Cystowithius florezi, C Parawithius bromelicola, D Oligowithius achagua. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.
A peculiar name
To understand the meaning of the genus name, which refers to the Latin for peace, pax, we should look at the history of this beautiful country. Since the early 20th century, Colombia has grappled with an ongoing civil conflict, particularly in rural areas. Starting in 1946 with the rise of the Guerrilla, this historic period named “La Violencia” claimed millions of lives. Over the years, the dynamics of the conflict evolved, but violence persisted. The 1980s witnessed the rise of the narco-era, plunging the entire nation into a vortex of violence. With the emergence of paramilitary forces vying for control of the drug trade, violent clashes with guerrillas further escalated the bloodshed.
In 2012, peace negotiations began in Colombia, and in 2016 the Peace agreement with the biggest Guerrilla group was established. Prior to this, a process of reconciliation was initiated with paramilitary groups. With the perception that for a true peace there has to be a comprehensive understanding of past events in order to forgive, the “Comisión de la verdad” (Truth commission) was created. This Commission did incredible work gathering testimonials of the war from all sides and making them accessible to the public. Remembering is essential to healing and moving on.
In the end, peace for this country has a lot to do with people, territory, and biodiversity. Areas that were previously unexplored due to violence are now accessible, and although war is far from over, this is a good path to follow. A long one, but, we hope, full of life.
Research article:
Romero-Ortiz C, Sarmiento CE, Harvey MS (2023) A new genus and five new species of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones, Withiidae) from Colombia. ZooKeys 1184: 301-326. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1184.106698
Content from 20 Pensoft journals will now be automatically added to ResearchGate to reach the research network’s 25 million users. Each journal will also receive a dedicated profile.
ResearchGate, the professional network for researchers, and Pensoft today announced a new partnership that will see a set of Pensoft’s open access journals increase their reach and visibility through ResearchGate – increasing access and engagement with its 25 million researcher members.
As part of this new partnership, 20 journals published by Pensoft – including the publisher’s flagship titles ZooKeys, PhytoKeys, MycoKeys, Biodiversity Data Journal and Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO Journal) amongst others – will now have their content automatically added to ResearchGate upon publication to benefit from enhanced visibility and discoverability through ResearchGate’s innovative Journal Home offering. These journals will all have dedicated profiles and be prominently represented on all associated article pages on ResearchGate, as well as all other relevant touch points throughout the network.
Journal Home provides a unique opportunity for Pensoft to connect its authors with their readers. The new journal profiles on ResearchGate will provide a central location for each journal, enabling researchers to learn more, discover new article content, and understand how, through their network, they are connected to the journal’s community of authors and editors. Authors of these journals additionally benefit from having their articles automatically added to their ResearchGate profile page, giving them access to metrics, including who is reading and citing their research. These rich insights will also enable Pensoft to build a deeper understanding of the communities engaging with its journals.
“Pensoft is delighted to be working with ResearchGate to provide an even greater service to our authors and readers. ResearchGate offers an innovative way for us to grow the reach and visibility of our content, while also giving us a way to better understand and engage our author and reader audiences.”
said Prof Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder of Pensoft.
“We couldn’t be happier to see Pensoft embark on this new partnership with ResearchGate. Journal Home will not only enable Pensoft authors to build visibility for their work, but provide them and Pensoft with greater insights about the communities engaging with that research. I look forward to seeing this new collaboration develop”
said Sören Hofmayer, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at ResearchGate.
About ResearchGate:
ResearchGate is the professional network for researchers. Over 25 million researchers use researchgate.net to share and discover research, build their networks, and advance their careers. Based in Berlin, ResearchGate was founded in 2008. Its mission is to connect the world of science and make research open to all.
The moth, named Mirlatia arcuata, by a research team from Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom, is one of the most remarkable discoveries in Lepidoptera of recent decades.
European Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), with a currently known inventory of approximately 11, 000 species, are generally considered well-researched. However, a new genus and species from the Geometrid moth family described in the scientific journal ZooKeys tell a different story. The moth, named Mirlatia arcuata by a research team from Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom, is one of the most remarkable discoveries in Lepidoptera of recent decades.
Decades-old UFO
In the early 1980s, Austrian amateur entomologist Robert Hentscholek collected three specimens of a moth species in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, which were integrated into his collection or given to colleagues without being identified. Decades later, the collection was sold to Toni Mayr, another hobbyist researcher from Austria, who immediately noticed the unusual insect that stood out from all known European species and couldn’t even be assigned to a known genus.
An adult female of Mirlatia arcuata.
The collector was contacted to provide more information, and it turned out that a male and a female specimen of the same species had been given to another collector who had since passed away. The female specimen was rediscovered in 2015 in the collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna, while the whereabouts of the other specimen remained unknown. The unique male was finally presented to the Tyrolean Federal State Museums by Toni Mayr.
Light traps are set in Podgora, Croatia, in 2022. Photo by Stanislav Gomboc
In 2022, a research team was formed to identify this enigmatic moth, and it was finally described as a new genus and species in early November 2023. It was given the name Mirlatia arcuata, where Mirlatia is an aggregate of the stems of two Latin words that translate loosely as “bringing a surprise,” a reference to the surprising discovery of this curious new moth.
Cold-adapted or introduced?
Wing venation of a male Mirlatia arcuata.
The discovery of such a large and distinctive moth species in a well-explored region like southern Croatia might seem unlikely. However, according to researcher Peter Huemer of the Tyrolean State Museums (Ferdinandeum), who took part in the study, there was surprisingly little research conducted in that area during the moth’s flight season in March. “It’s possible that Mirlatia arcuata is a cold-adapted, winter-active species that would need to be sought in the middle of winter,” he says.
The hypothesis of introduction from other continents was discarded by the study authors for several reasons. Axel Hausmann from the Zoological State Collection in Munich examined all known moths from cold regions in the northern and southern hemisphere and could not identify a similar species from these regions. Furthermore, the collecting location in Podgora is not in close proximity to a port, and during the Yugoslavian era, the traffic in Dalmatian ports was rather limited. Also, Split and other Croatian ports were rarely visited by ships from other continents during the communist period. Additionally, Robert Hentscholek had never collected in the tropics, ruling out the possibility of a labeling error.
Many questions, few answers
Despite all efforts, the relationships of the new genus and species have not been definitively clarified. Even the assignment to the subfamily Larentiinae is not entirely secure and is based on a few features like wing venation. Initial genetic data from the mitochondrial COI barcode, as well as characteristics of the tympanal organ (auditory organ), point to a largely independent systematic position of the species. Further investigations of the entire genome could provide more clarity.
Habitat of Mirlatia arcuata in Podgora, Croatia. Photo by Stanislav Gomboc
Even less is known about the biology of the new species, apart from the fact that its known habitat consists of coastal rock biotopes with Mediterranean vegetation. In March 2022, Slovenian lepidopterologist Stane Gomboc initiated a comprehensive search, but it turned out to be unsuccessful. It’s possible that the moth’s flight season has already ended due to climate warming.
The study authors hope they will soon rediscover Mirlatia arcuata and know more about its habitat requirements and biology.
Research Article:
Hausmann A, László GM, Mayr T, Huemer P (2023) Surprising discovery of an enigmatic geometrid in Croatia: Mirlatia arcuata, gen. nov., sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Geometridae). ZooKeys 1183: 99-110. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1183.110163
The Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve in Peru has often been described as the most biodiverse rainforest in the world. For example, in recent decades, scientist have discovered several new bird species from the region. The researchers of the University of Turku in Finland have studied the insect biodiversity in Allpahuayo-Mishana for over twenty years. In their latest study, the scientist described a new wasp genus, Capitojoppa, to science.
In their newly published study, the researchers describe a new wasp genus Capitojoppa to science, categorising it to the subfamily Ichneumoninae.
Capitojoppa amazonica is a large parasitoid wasp species that has only been discovered in the Allpahuyao-Mishana National Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon. Photographer: Kari Kaunisto, Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku.
“Wasps belonging to this subfamily are usually large and colourful, especially in the tropics, and as larvae feed internally on moth and butterfly caterpillars and pupae. We have studied the biodiversity of ichneumonines in the Allpahuyao-Mishana National Reserve with the samples collected by the researchers of the University of Turku in Finland. In our studies, we have discovered several species unknown to science which we will describe in the future. The current study kicks off this research,” says Doctoral Candidate Brandon Claridge from the Utah State University in the United States.
The Allpahuyao-Mishana National Reserve first gained prominence in the scientific community in the late 1980s when an American botanist Alwyn Gentry documented the highest number of tree species at a single locality known to date.
“Gentry wanted to discover how many tree species can grow in one hectare (2.5 acres) of the Amazon rainforest. In his study, he discovered nearly 300 tree species in that one-hectare research patch. We have studied the insect biodiversity in the same research areas since 1998 and report some of the highest numbers of insect species in the world from this region. We also found Capitojoppa near the same research hectare used by Gentry,” says Professor of Biodiversity Research Ilari E. Sääksjärvi from the University of Turku, who collected the specimens during his field studies.
Species unknown to science are described in research journals. Their names often describe the species’ characteristics or range.
Photo: Kari Kaunisto, Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku.
“The name Capitojoppa tells scientists a great deal about the characteristics of the newly discovered wasp genus. The wasps of the genus have a large head, which is reflected in the capito part of the name. It also refers to the barbet bird genus Capito found in South America, which have a large and strong beak. The joppa part of the name refers to the wasp genus Joppa that the Capitojoppa resembles. The specific species name amazonica refers to the Amazon,” Claridge explains.
Finnish researchers helped in the conservation efforts of the Allpahuayo-Mishana Reserve in the 1990s.
“Allpahuayo-Mishana is a part of the Amazon that has an unprecedented abundance of species. Due to the region’s complex geological history, there are several different types of rainforest growing in the Reserve. The species biodiversity of many organisms is highest on the whole planet at Allpahuayo-Mishana. We actively continue our studies in the region. Unfortunately, the area is currently changing rapidly due to human activities. With our insect studies, we are trying to find out how the impact of human activities, such as climate change, alter the nature in the rainforest,” says Professor Sääksjärvi.
The group’s research article was published in the journal ZooKeys.
Research article:
Claridge BR, Kaunisto KM, Sääksjärvi IE (2023) Capitojoppa, a new genus of Ichneumoninae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from Peruvian Amazonia. ZooKeys 1178: 69-76. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1178.108929
Last week, on Friday, 6 October 2023, a research article entitled “One new genus and four new species of Liocranidae Simon, 1897 (Arachnida, Araneae) from China and Vietnam” by Chang Chu, Shuqiang Li, Yanbin Yao, Zhiyuan Yao was published. This is the 100th paper published in ZooKeys co-authored by Shuqiang Li, a leading spider specialist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. Shuqiang’s first ZooKeys paper was published on December 18, 2012. Until last Friday, Shuqiang has published 51 new genera and 677 new species in 100 ZooKeys papers.
Shuqiang started his scientific career as a spider taxonomist, with his first paper on the Linyphiidae of China published in 1987, followed by a series of revisions of known Chinese and Asia spider species. To date, he has documented more than 2,000 new species.
A glimpse into new spider species published in ZooKeys by Shuqiang Li. A. Macrothele limenghuai (Macrothelidae); B. Phrynarachne dreepy (Thomisidae); C. Onomastus chenae (Salticidae); D. Asianopis liukuensis (Deinopidae); E. Ectatosticta xuanzang (Hypochilidae); F. Megaeupoa yanfengi (Salticidae); G. Chilobrachys jinchengi (Theraphosidae); H. Platythomisus xiandao (Thomisidae).
He is also a proficient professor in the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and has mentored more than 30 PhD students from China, Vietnam, and Italy, and another three M.Sc. students from Kenya and Malaysia. Most of his former Chinese PhD students have since become full professors. Shuqiang has been the Secretary of the Asian Society of Arachnology since 2012 and President of the Arachnology Society of China since 2018.
Femorbiona shenzhen, one of the new species described by Shuqiang Li and his colleagues in ZooKeys.
Many people see spiders as ugly due to their multiple legs, hairy bodies, and sometimes venomous fangs, but this appearance serves a purpose in their survival and adaptation to their environment. “Spiders are lovely animals”, Shuqiang said to us. He focuses mostly on fine spider structures. For example, he used spider copulatory organs (male palp and female epigyne) to study species taxonomy. “Interspecies mating is not easy due to difference in copulatory organs,” he says. He and his team members are also focusing on the origin of spider organs.
Thanks to recently collected samples, it was described and named after its preferred habitat, the boulders surrounded by the last remaining forests at these sites.
Named after its habitat preference, Paroedura manongavato, from the Malagasy words “manonga” (to climb) and “vato” (rock), is a bouldering expert. Part of its “home range” is also very well-known to rock climbers for its massive granitic domes. “Its description represents another step into the crux (in climbing jargon, the most difficult section of a bouldering problem) of resolving the taxonomy of the recently revised P. bastardi group, where the new species belongs, and reaching a total of 25 described species in this genus, all exclusively living in Madagascar and Comoros,” says C. Piccoli from CIBIO – Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Portugal. She and her team just published a paper describing the new gecko.
Thus far, this species has only been found in Anja Reserve and Tsaranoro, both of which are isolated forest patches in the arid south-central plateau of Madagascar. These sites, at a distance of ca. 25 km, have a peculiar conformation, with huge granitic boulders close to rocky cliffs and surrounded by vegetation. The survival of P. manongavato, defined as microendemic for being restricted to a very narrow distributional range, thus depends on the preservation of these small forest patches. Subsequently, the authors proposed an evaluation of its conservation status as Critically Endangered, a category designated for species threatened of extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Its discovery history is long, starting during the Malagasy summer of 2010, when the first evidence of another Paroedura species was found in Anja, together with the recently described P. rennerae in 2021. Distinguishing these two species on the field is a difficult task. Both species have prominent dorsal-enlarged keeled scales and a similar dorsal pattern, although adults of P. manongavato have an overall less spiky appearance, less contrasted dorsal markings, and a smaller body size compared to P. rennerae. The need to collect more samples brought researchers A. Crottini, F. Andreone, and G. M. Rosa to return to Anja in 2014, and collect the future holotype (i.e. the name-bearing and description reference individual) of this new species. Later in 2018, F. Belluardo, J. Lobón-Rovira, and M. Rasoazanany, visited Anja and Tsaranoro again and were able to collect several tissue samples and high-resolution photos of the reptiles living in the area, including the new gecko species. This cumulative data collection was fundamental to advance with its description.
Published in the open access journalZooKeys, this study highlights the importance of conducting herpetological inventories in Madagascar to improve our understanding of species diversity and progress with species conservation assessments. “The description of this species shows the importance of collaborative efforts when documenting biodiversity, especially for those range-restricted and isolated species at greatest risk of disappearing,” points out the leading author of this study C. Piccoli.
Research article:
Piccoli C, Belluardo F, Lobón-Rovira J, Oliveira Alves I, Rasoazanany M, Andreone F, Rosa GM, Crottini A (2023) Another step through the crux: a new microendemic rock-dwelling Paroedura (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from south-central Madagascar. ZooKeys 1181: 125-154. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1181.108134
After 22 years of relative obscurity, this research uncovers vital information about its distribution, phylogenetics, and potential conservation threats.
Porcupines of the genus Coendou are arboreal, herbivorous, nocturnal rodents distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Most of what we currently know on them is restricted to species that occur near urban areas, and we still have a lot to learn about these fascinating animals.
Recently, a new study shed light on a very unknown neotropical porcupine species. Roosmalens’ dwarf porcupine (Coendou roosmalenorum) is the smallest porcupine species we know, with blackish monocolored bristles on the tail which confers a blackish color to it, but apart from its appearance, we didn’t know much about it until recently.
A preserved specimen of Coendou roosmalenorum.
“This species was described in 2001 and our paper is the first scientific report after this date, which means nothing was discovered about Roosmalen’s porcupine in a 22-year period,” says Fernando Heberson Menezes, the lead author of a study that was just published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
“Before our research, we had only a morphological description of the species, with a little information about its distribution and natural history, and nothing about population ecology or conservation threats.”
Using DNA sequencing and exploring data on its occurrences, Fernando and his team were able to uncover new facts about the enigmatic animal.
Thanks to their study, we now know more about its distribution in the Madeira biogeographical province in the Amazon Forest. “With this information, we raised the hypothesis this species is endemic to Madeira Province, which is important for predicting where we can find this species and the possible threats affecting its population or its distribution,” says Fernando.
Distribution of Caaporamys roosmalenorum in Brazilian Amazonia. The new record (locality 1) is the southeastern most record for the species, from Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The darker gray area represents the Madeira Province sensu Morrone et al. (2022).
At the same time, they found Roosmalens’ dwarf porcupine at new locations in the Amazon rainforest, which suggests that its distribution in southern Amazonia is wider than suspected.
Their phylogenetic analysis – the study of the species’ evolutionary history and relationships with other species – confirmed that the species is a member of the subgenus Caaporamys . This is important, the researchers say, because the classification of the genus Coendou had been “historically chaotic” until the last few years.
The information in this study opens up numerous opportunities for further researching this species. “We can think of ways to answer very basic scientific questions such as ‘how does Roosmalen’s porcupine use space?’ or ‘what does it eat?’, some more advanced questions such as ‘how did it evolve?,’ or applied questions such as ‘what are the major threats for its conservation?,’ or ‘how can we use it as a model to know more about the health of the Amazon forest?’, says Fernando in conclusion.
Original source:
Menezes FH, Semedo TBF, Saldanha J, Garbino GST, Fernandes-Ferreira H, Cordeiro-Estrela P, da Costa IR (2023) Phylogenetic relationships, distribution, and conservation of Roosmalens’ dwarf porcupine, Coendou roosmalenorum Voss & da Silva, 2001 (Rodentia, Erethizontidae). ZooKeys 1179: 139-155. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1179.108766
The Strange Big-eared Brown Bat, Histiotus alienus, was first described by science in 1916, by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The description of the species was based on a single specimen captured in Joinville, Paraná, in southern Brazil.
For more than 100 years, the species had never been captured, being known only by its holotype—the specimen that bears the name, and represents morphological and molecular traits of a species—deposited in The Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom. Now, after a century, the species has been rediscovered. Scientists Dr Vinícius C. Cláudio, Msc Brunna Almeida, Dr Roberto L.M. Novaes, and Dr Ricardo Moratelli, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil and Dr Liliani M. Tiepolo, and Msc Marcos A. Navarro, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil have published details on the sighting in a paper in the open access journal ZooKeys.
During field expeditions of the research project Promasto (Mammals from Campos Gerais National Park and Palmas Grasslands Wildlife Refuge) in 2018, the researchers captured one specimen of big-eared bat at Palmas Grassland Wildlife Refuge. To catch it, they used mist-nets—equipment employed during the capture of bats and birds—set at the edge of a forest patch. When they compared it to the Tropical Big-eared Brown Bat (Histiotus velatus), commonly captured in the region, they found it was nothing like it.
The unidentified big-eared bat specimen was then collected and deposited at the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for further studies.
After comparing this puzzling specimen against hundreds of other big-eared brown bats from almost all the species in the genus, the researchers were able to conclusively identify the bat as a Strange Big-eared Brown Bat and confirm its second known record. “Since the description of several the species within the genus is more than one hundred years old and somewhat vague, comparisons and data presented by us will aid the correct identification of big-eared brown bats,” they say.
The Strange Big-eared Brown Bat has oval, enlarged ears that are connected by a very low membrane; general dark brown coloration in both dorsal and ventral fur; and about 100 to 120 mm in total length. This combination of characters most resembles the Southern Big-eared Brown Bat (Histiotus magellanicus), in which the membrane connecting ears is almost absent.
The only known record of the Strange Big-eared Brown Bat until now was from Joinville, Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil, which is about 280 kilometers away from where it was spotted in 2018. So far, the species is known to occur in diverse terrains, from dense rainforests to araucaria and riparian forests and grasslands, at altitudes from sea level to over 1200 m a.s.l.
This increase in the distribution of the species, however, does not represent an improvement on its conservation status: the species is currently classified as Data Deficient by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Its habitat, the highly fragmented Atlantic Forest, is currently under pressure from agricultural activity.
But there is still hope: “The new record of H. alienus in Palmas is in a protected area, which indicates that at least one population of the species may be protected,” the researchers write in their study.
Research article:
Cláudio VC, Almeida B, Novaes RLM, Navarro MA, Tiepolo LM, Moratelli R (2023) Rediscovery of Histiotusalienus Thomas, 1916 a century after its description (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae): distribution extension and redescription. ZooKeys, 1174, 273–287. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1174.108553
For the Pensoft team, September 2023 was a busy and exciting month filled with conferences. Travelling across Europe, they promoted journals, connected with the scientific community, and rewarded exceptional research with free article publications.
Let’s take a look back at all the events of the past month.
Pensoft representatives Mrs. Boriana Ovcharova and Mrs. Anna Sapundzhieva, ready to greet attendees in the sun.
The conference looked at evolutionary adaptations from the perspective of behavioural ecology, reproduction biology, genetics, physiology, as well as nature conservation. It particularly focused on the pressing issues of wildlife research and species conservation in the context of global environmental change. Most of the ≈100 participants were young scientists from more than 30 countries.
The Pensoft team greeted fellow attendees with an exhibition stand and presented the conservation and ecology-focused journals Neobiota, Nature Conservation, One Ecosystem, and Biodiversity Data Journal. Pensoft also advocated for EuropaBon, who are designing an EU-wide framework for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, and REST-COAST, whose mission is to provide the tools to restore environmental degradation of rivers and coasts. Within both European-funded initiatives, Pensoft is a key dissemination partner that contributes expertise in science communication, scholarly publishing, and the development of digital tools and platforms.
Joao Pedro Meireles posing with his Best Poster award.
Pensoft presented Joao Pedro Meireles from Utrecht University with the Best Poster Award for his research on pair compatibility in okapis, entitling him to a free publication in one of Pensoft’s open-access journals.
“My study looked at pair compatibility in the zoo breeding programme of Okapi. During breeding introductions, sometimes the male becomes aggressive towards the female and we decided to investigate the potential factors. We ran a survey among all zoos that house the species in Europe and we found that differences in husbandry were linked to the aggressiveness performed by the males.”
Joao Pedro Meireles, Utrecht University
GfÖ Annual Meeting 2023
From the 12th to 16th of September, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research hosted the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerlandin Leipzig, Germany. The meeting welcomed more than 1,100 participants from around the world, including scientists, policymakers, educators, and environmental enthusiasts.
This year’s meeting was held with the theme: “The future of biodiversity – overcoming barriers of taxa, realms and scales.” There was a particular emphasis on future challenges and opportunities facing biodiversity, and how to address and manage these in an interdisciplinary and integrative way.
Mrs. Boriana Ovcharova (Pensoft) with Neobiota Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Ingolf Kühn.
Conference participants were welcomed at the Pensoft stand, where they could learn more about the projects EuropaBon and SELINA, which deal with biodiversity, ecosystem and natural capital topics.
Also in Leipzig, the European Conference on Ecological Modellingtook place between the 4th and 8th of September. The event focused on the transformation of how societies deal with natural resources in a world where biodiversity and ecosystem services are at high risk.
The ECEM 2023 continued a series of conferences launched by the European chapter of ISEM, the International Society for Ecological Modelling. ISEM promotes the international exchange of ideas, scientific results, and general knowledge in the areas of systems’ analysis and simulations in ecology, and the application of ecological modelling for natural resource management.
📢Shutout to all attending the #ECEM23@ECEM_2023#ecological#modelling conference TODAY in Leipzig! Make sure to visit the poster session during lunch & find about the unique article types welcome to our #journal! 💡They intend to disseminate models PRIOR TO implementation! https://t.co/dUVskYFK11
— Food & Ecological Systems Modelling Journal, FESMJ (@FESMJournal) September 5, 2023
The Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung team presented a poster on the Formal Model format and potential new MiDox formats, unique publication types that can be submitted to Pensoft’s Food and Ecological Modelling Journal.
118th Congress of the Italian Botanical Society
Speakers at the 118th Congress of the Italian Botanical Society.
Pensoft was proud to sponsor the 118th Congress of the Italian Botanical Society, which took place in Pisa, Italy from the 13th to 16th of September. Experts in various fields of Botany gathered to share their research on the following topics:
Journals promoted by Pensoft at the 94th Annual Meeting of the Paläontologische Gesellschaft.
Summer may be well and truly over, but as a new academic year begins, Pensoft looks forward to attending more conferences, rewarding more incredible research, and connecting with more of the scientific community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to or engaged with Pensoft’s open-access journals this year, and here’s to a successful final quarter of 2023.
We look back on this incredible journey with pride and appreciation for the countless researchers, authors, reviewers, and supporters who have helped make this dream a reality.
Today, we are thrilled to share with you the celebration of a remarkable milestone in our journey. In July, we marked our 15th birthday – a decade and a half of fostering the free exchange of ideas, data, and knowledge in the vast realm of zoology.
We look back on this incredible journey with pride and appreciation for the countless researchers, authors, reviewers, and supporters who have helped make this dream a reality. From the very inception, our goal has been to create a platform where zoological discoveries can shine brightly, accessible to all who share a passion for the wonders of the animal kingdom.
ZooKeys was born out of our collective desire to push the boundaries of scientific publishing, to embrace innovation, and to provide a space where the brightest minds in zoology could come together. Over the years, we have not only achieved this but, thanks to our publisher Pensoft, have also become pioneers in implementing cutting-edge technologies to enhance the way knowledge is shared and absorbed.
ZooKeys was the first of Pensoft’s open-access journals, set up to accelerate research and free information exchange in taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography and evolution of animals. Starting as a taxonomic journal, it quickly expanded to other zoology-related sciences, such as ecology, molecular biology, genomics, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, behavioural science, bioinformatics etc… The journal has been thriving since its inception and is currently considered as one of the most prolific and liked Open Access journals in zoology.
Erwin T, Stoev P, Penev L (2018) ZooKeys anniversary: 10 years of leadership toward open-access publishing of zoological data and establishment at Pensoft of like-minded sister journals across the biodiversity spectrum. ZooKeys 770: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.770.28105
One of our proudest achievements was being the first taxonomic journal to introduce semantic tagging and content enhancements, revolutionizing the way information is presented and accessed. This endeavor, which began with our 50th issue in 2010, marked a turning point in scholarly publishing.
The cover of the first issue of ZooKeys.
As of today, we’ve published more than 180,000 pages of research in almost 7,000 articles that have amassed more than 3 million views. Here is a Top 5 of our most popular articles ever:
Helgen K, Pinto M, Kays R, Helgen L, Tsuchiya M, Quinn A, Wilson D, Maldonado J (2013) Taxonomic revision of the olingos (Bassaricyon), with description of a new species, the Olinguito. ZooKeys 324: 1-83. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.324.5827, with 80,500 views,
Bousquet Y (2016) Litteratura Coleopterologica (1758–1900): a guide to selected books related to the taxonomy of Coleoptera with publication dates and notes. ZooKeys 583: 1-776. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.583.7084 with 69,543 views,
Ledford J, Griswold C, Audisio T (2012) An extraordinary new family of spiders from caves in the Pacific Northwest (Araneae, Trogloraptoridae, new family). ZooKeys 215: 77-102. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.215.3547 with 65,446 views,
Formal paper on Trogloraptor marchingtoni, OR new sickle-legged spider, available online. Sadly pics loading way slow. http://t.co/GGFjVHPW
Ibrahim N, Sereno PC, Varricchio DJ, Martill DM, Dutheil DB, Unwin DM, Baidder L, Larsson HCE, Zouhri S, Kaoukaya A (2020) Geology and paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of eastern Morocco. ZooKeys 928: 1-216. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.928.47517 with 64,456 views,
— Marcos K. Pinheiro / "Marcos Wyvern" (Marcosaurus) (@MMarcosaurus) April 22, 2020
Bouchard P, Bousquet Y, Davies A, Alonso-Zarazaga M, Lawrence J, Lyal C, Newton A, Reid C, Schmitt M, Slipinski A, Smith A (2011) Family-Group Names In Coleoptera (Insecta). ZooKeys 88: 1-972. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.88.807 with 63,524 views.
Our journey would have been incomplete without you – our avid readers and supporters. Your hunger for knowledge, your curiosity, and your unwavering support have been the wind beneath our wings, motivating us to do better, and reinforcing the importance of what we do. As we celebrate our 15th birthday, we extend our deepest gratitude to each one of you who has been a part of our history.
Part of an illustration by Nancy Halliday from the most popular ZooKeys paper to date.
Looking ahead, the future of ZooKeys looks as bright as ever. We are committed to continuing our legacy of innovation, collaboration, and accessibility. Our goal remains steadfast – to be a beacon of knowledge, a platform that fosters discoveries, and a source of inspiration for the next generation of zoological minds.
As we celebrate our 15th anniversary, we are filled with a sense of awe and wonder at the remarkable achievements we have collectively made. Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey. Here’s to the next 15 years and beyond, as we continue to explore, discover, and celebrate the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth.
