Tag: evolution

New “Happy-Face” Spider Species Discovered in the Indian Himalayas

For over a century, this cheerful-looking creature was thought to be a unique resident of the Hawaiian Islands.

Vibrant, tiny, and sporting a bright red grin on its back, the Happy-Face spider is one of the most famous and recognisable arachnids in the world. For over a century, this cheerful-looking creature was thought to be a unique resident of the Hawaiian Islands, a biological curiosity found nowhere else on Earth.

When researchers from the Forest Research Institute and the Regional Museum of Natural History discovered a new species of spider with the same unmistakable smile in the montane mountains of Uttarakhand, India, they knew exactly what to call it: Theridion himalayana, the Himalayan Happy-Face Spider.

Mature male (left) and female (right) of *Theridion himalayana* sp. nov. Photo credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy.

“The discovery was accidental because our survey was [originally] on ants. But my co-author [Ashirwad Tripathy] kept sending me spiders from high altitude regions for identification.

So, one fine day, when he shared this image from the underside of a Daphniphyllum leaf, I froze in shock because I had seen the Hawaiian spider during my master’s programme itself, and I knew instantly we had a jackpot because of its striking resemblance.

I asked him to send all morphs that he found, and that led to the discovery in the next few months, from October 2023 onwards.”
Devi Priyadarshini, Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhubaneswar

Priyadarshini added that she was always interested in exploring high-altitude spiders because the landscape and vegetation are so different there than in the plains:

“This almost came across as a gateway to look at other polymorphic species from this region.”

Ashirwad also said that we could find more variations in the species if the surveys could be done extensively.

Nest architecture of *Theridion himalayana*. Photo credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy.

The species name, himalayana, serves as a tribute to the mountain range where the spider was found at elevations of over 2,000 meters above sea level.

“The name Himalayana was decided as the species name because we both wanted to pay our respects to the mighty Himalaya mountain ranges, which have been standing tall not just guarding our country but also holding a plethora of biodiversity within them.

Since this spider was the first polymorphic from this region, we decided to make it an ode to the amazing mountain ranges.”
Ashirwad Tripathy, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

*Theridion himalayana* sp. nov. Photo credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy.

The research, published in the open-access journal Evolutionary Systematics, identified 32 different colour variations, or “morphs”, of the species collected from three locations in Uttarakhand: Makku, Tala, and Mandal. DNA analysis revealed a genetic variation of approximately 8.5% from the Hawaiian happy-face spider, confirming it as a separate lineage that evolved independently in Asia.

Different “morphs” of *Theridion himalayana* sp. nov. Photo credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy.

While the smiling patterns are striking, their exact purpose remains a mystery.

“The reason behind the expression of polymorphism is also very complex and unique.

These patterns definitely help them survive better in the wild, which is understood prima facie, but why do they resort to such patterns on their back, and what functional role in their life cycle does it exactly serve is yet to be deciphered. This is definitely indicative of a deeper genetic mystery.”
Priyadarshini

Ashirwad also mentioned that the spider species was surrounded by critters which had similar colour patterns on their body.

Subadult female with Psocid (booklice) prey. Photo credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy.

The study additionally noted that these spiders are frequently found on ginger plants (Hedychium species), mirroring the behaviour of their Hawaiian cousins. Since ginger is not native to Hawaii, the researchers are intrigued by the evolutionary connection.

“How did the spiders choose an invasive species and ginger exactly? If T. himalayana is an elder cousin of T. grallator, although discovered 125 years later!

Although this sounds like a tall claim now, it will be our further scope of work to establish any missing links, if at all, through Hedychium sps.”
Priyadarshini

Showing the prey of T. himalayana sp. nov. Video credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy.

Original source:

Tripathy A, Priyadarshini D (2026) On the discovery of a new polymorphic Happy-Face Spider (Araneae, Theridiidae) from the Western Himalayas, India, with notes on its natural history. Evolutionary Systematics 10(1): 63-84. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.10.174338

For more from Evolutionary Systematics, follow us on Facebook and Bluesky.

The Evolutionary Adaptations of Cave-Dwelling Catfish in Brazil

What do brain morphology and sensory structures tell us about the evolutionary adaptations between catfish that live on the surface and those that live in caves?

Cave fauna fascinates young and old alike. Deep within the karst systems of Chapada Diamantina, Brazil, lives one of the world’s most diverse groups of cave-dwelling fish.

In fact, Brazilian cavefishes are the richest troglobitic (cave-dwelling) ichthyofauna worldwide, boasting 13 different genera. While the surface world is teeming with life, the subterranean realm, or the hypogean habitat, demands a very specific set of skills to survive.

The research, conducted by Thalia Rodovanski (from the Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brazil) and her team, was published in Subterranean Biology and took a closer look at the Copionodontinae, a subfamily of primitive catfishes.

Shallow water pool in Igatu. Photo credit to Maria Elina Bichuette.

Building on previous findings regarding the aggressive (agonistic) nature of Copionodontinae species, the researchers used this behavioral foundation to investigate how their physical and sensory structures have evolved in response to their environment.

By comparing surface-dwelling (epigean) species such as Copionodon pecten, C. lianae, and G. rodriguesi with their cave-bound cousin, Glaphyropoma spinosum, the researchers undertook the task of uncovering how these fish transitioned from the sunlit rivers to the pitch-black cave riverine systems.

Specifically, they did this by measuring the brain morphology and sensory structures such as barbels, eyes and counted pores of the lateral canal system on the head.

Shallow water pools in Igatu. Photo credit to Maria Elina Bichuette.
Researcher in a cave system in Igatu. Photo credit to Maria Elina Bichuette.

The curious findings

One of the most striking finds involved the genus Glaphyropoma. While the cave-dwelling G. spinosum shows classic troglomorphisms (adaptations for life in constant darkness), such as reduced eyes and a loss of skin pigment, the researchers found something surprising: even the surface-dwelling species in this group showed eye asymmetry and reduction.

*Copionodon pecten*. Photo credit to Maria Elina Bichuette.

Based on this, the researchers hypothesized that the asymmetry in the eyes is a plesiomorphic character (an ancestral trait) of the genus, rather than a feature developed in response to the specific habitat of each species. This pre-existing condition likely favored the colonization of hypogean (underground) habitats by G. spinosum.

In other words, Glaphyropoma already had a tendency toward reduced eyes. Instead of evolving small eyes because of the cave environment, they likely had them from the start. This is known as exaptation: a trait that originally evolved for one function (or no function at all) and was later co-opted for a new, different purpose, in this case, better suited for the dark.

*Glaphyropoma spinosum*. Photo credit to Adriano Gambarini.

As you can imagine, seeing in pitch black is quite hard. Therefore, these species had to rely on their other senses. The study found that the cave-dwelling G. spinosum has a longer telencephalon than its relatives. This is significant because it is the part of the brain responsible for navigating through chemical cues, creating mental maps (spatial memory), and participating in social interactions. Interestingly, the mesencephalon (the vision-processing center) hasn’t shrunk significantly yet, suggesting that these fish are still in the middle of their evolutionary transition.

The researchers concluded that while G. spinosum shows clear cave-specialized traits, many of these features are shared by its surface-dwelling cousins.

However, because of a lack of specimens of G. rodriguesi, the only known epigean species of the genus, which occurs sporadically in caves, it is not yet possible to definitively conclude if the sensory troglomorphisms detected in this study are related to taxonomic identity or the habitat itself.

Ultimately, such research is key to understanding more about the complex life of the highly specialized species that inhabit these fascinating environments.

Original source:

Rodovanski T, Bichuette ME, Cetra M, Mattox GMT (2026) The influence of subterranean habitats in the sensorial and brain morphology of hypogean and epigean Copionodontinae catfish (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae). Subterranean Biology 55: 27-42. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.55.175751

Corals’ Boldest Cousins: UH Scientists Discover Marine Creatures Bending the Laws of Evolution

A new Frontiers of Biogeography study shows zoantharian hexacorals defy biogeographic norms with narrow genetic differences across the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Guest blog post by Dr. Maria “Duda” Santos and Maria Frostic

In the realm of marine biogeography, there is a widely held scientific principle: the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans are worlds apart. If you dive in Brazil and then in Okinawa, you expect to see entirely different groups of fish and coral. But according to a new global study published today in Frontiers of Biogeography, one group of colorful hexacorals, anemone-like creatures—known as zoantharians—is breaking all the rules.

The study, led by Dr. Maria “Duda” Santos of the UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) ToBo Lab and the University of the Ryukyus, began with a moment of “déjà vu” underwater.

Diver in Malaysia looking at a coral reef — **Underwater view in a Malaysian coral reef with Duda searching for zoantharian species. Photo by Sam Webster.**

“During my first dive in Okinawa, I was surrounded by a multitude of species I had never seen in my homeland of Brazil. But then I saw the zoantharians. They looked exactly like the ones back home—the same colors, shapes, and sizes. It was striking.”
shares Dr. Santos

While the Indo-Pacific typically hosts ten times the species diversity of the Atlantic for most reef animals, this research found that the genetic and morphological divergence between oceans for these creatures is surprisingly narrow.

The Secrets of the Ultimate Travelers

Zoantharians from different parts of the ocean that surprisingly show narrow evolution despite the distance — **Sibling zoantharians from the Indo-Pacific (A) and the Atlantic (B) oceans. Images by Dr. Maria “Duda” Santos.**

The researchers suggest that zoantharians may be the ultimate oceanic travelers. Their secret likely lies in high dispersal via an “epic” larval phase, where young zoantharians can survive in open water for over 100 days, paired with an ability to “raft” across ocean basins by hitchhiking on floating objects.

Furthermore, an unusually slow evolutionary rate appears to keep distant populations looking and acting like siblings, even after millions of years of separation by continental barriers.

This discovery has major implications for the future of our oceans. As climate change stresses traditional stony corals, zoantharians are increasingly moving in to fill the void.

“In habitats impacted by stress, some zoantharian species can outcompete stony corals. We are seeing ‘phase shifts‘ where reefs once dominated by corals are being taken over by zoantharians. Understanding how they spread helps us forecast what the reefs of the future will look like.”
explains Dr. Santos

A Global Atlas for a Changing Ocean

This landmark study represents a massive international effort, uniting a team from Hawai’i, Okinawa, Russia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Indonesia. By combining DNA data and records from Mexico to the Philippines, the team has provided the first-ever global “atlas” for a group of animals that has remained in the shadows of their more famous coral cousins for decades. This map of the past and present provides a vital baseline for monitoring how marine life will navigate a warming world.

Original source

Santos, M.E.A., Kise, H., Fourreau, C.J.L., Kiriukhin, B., Kitahara, M.V., Baker, D.M., Toonen, R.J., Liu, P.J., Chang, A., Tu, T.-H., Widiastuti, Agustini, K.M.P., Bowen, B.W. and Reimer, J.D. (2026). Global biogeography of zoantharians indicates a weak genetic differentiation between the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans, and distinct communities in tropical and temperate provinces. Frontiers of Biogeography, 19. doi: https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.19.174247

Curious isolation: new butterfly species discovered

Due to its specific ecological associations and low genetic diversity, this butterfly may soon face challenges with climate change adaptation.

In the heart of Canada’s Rocky Mountains, an unassuming yet remarkable butterfly has been quietly flying under our scientific radar for years. With a wingspan of an inch to an inch and a half, and wings that are brown on top and greyish brown with black spots below, this population was long thought to belong to the Half-moon Hairstreak (Satyrium semiluna). However, the isolated hairstreak butterflies of Blakiston Fan in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, have now been recognized as a distinct species: Satyrium curiosolus, or the Curiously Isolated Hairstreak.

A recent study by an international collaborative team, published in ZooKeys, uncovered the unique evolutionary history of this population. The results were striking: Satyrium curiosolus has been completely isolated from its closest relatives for quite a while—possibly up to 40,000 years— becoming more and more genetically and ecologically unique along the way.

The cover page of a research article entitled "Genomic and ecological divergence support recognition of a new species of endangered Satyrium butterfly (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)"

The science behind the discovery

“Our whole-genome sequencing of S. curiosolus revealed strikingly low genetic diversity and exceptionally high levels of historical inbreeding compared to the geographically nearest S. semiluna populations in British Columbia and Montana, more than 400 km distant,” says co-first author Zac MacDonald, a La Kretz postdoctoral researcher at University of California Los Angeles Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Despite its small population size, genetic data suggest that S. curiosolus has likely maintained itself as a stable, independent lineage for tens of thousands of years. “Like the Channel Island Fox, S. curiosolus may have purged some of its harmful recessive genetic variation through a long, gradual history of inbreeding, allowing it to persist as a small and completely isolated population today,” MacDonald adds.

A close-up photo of a grayish butterfly perched on vibrant yellow flowers. — *Satyrium curiosolus*.

Satyrium curiosolus is found in a distinct habitat unlike any other population of S. semiluna that we know of. While its relatives thrive in sagebrush steppe, S. curiosolus occupies a single alluvial fan that is more accurately described as prairie-grassland, where it associates with different plants and ant species. Satyrium curiosolus relies exclusively on silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus) for larval development, a plant not known to be used by S. semiluna populations in British Columbia.

A photo of a small butterfly perched on a dry seed pod among green leaves, showcasing. — A freshly eclosed S. curiosolus on silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus).

“Furthermore, we recently discovered that S. curiosolus larvae have mutualistic relationships with a particular species of ant (Lasius ponderosae), which has not been observed in other S. semiluna populations,” says James Glasier of the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, who was also part of the study. Satyrium curiosolus caterpillars provide the Lasius ants with a sugary excretion called honeydew to eat, while in return the ants protect the caterpillar from parasites and predators. Caterpillars also retreat into ant galleries when disturbed, or when it gets too hot out, and adult females have been observed laying eggs right near the entrances to Lasius colonies under Silvery Lupines.

Why it matters

The recognition of S. curiosolus as a species has important implications, highlighting its unique evolutionary trajectory and emphasizing an urgent need for tailored conservation strategies.

The discovery of S. curiosolus is a powerful demonstration of how genomics is revolutionizing taxonomy and conservation.
Julian Dupuis, Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at University of Kentucky

Satyrium curiosolus faces a somewhat unique challenge: its long-term isolation has resulted in very low genetic diversity, which means that the species has a reduced potential to adapt to changing climatic conditions. While conservationists often consider genetic rescue—introducing individuals from related populations to boost genetic diversity—as a solution to low genetic diversity, the distinctiveness of S. curiosolus raises concerns about potential outbreeding depression when mixed with S. semiluna. It is likely that the two species are not even reproductively compatible, meaning S. curiosolus may be on its own. Conservation efforts must now consider new solutions, such as establishing additional S. curiosolus populations, to help this butterfly persist as climate change threatens ecological change at Blakiston Fan.

A case study in genomics and conservation

“The discovery of S. curiosolus is a powerful demonstration of how genomics is revolutionizing taxonomy and conservation,” remarked co-first author Julian Dupuis, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at University of Kentucky. “While traditional taxonomic methods often rely on morphology alone, our study underscores the importance of integrating genomic and ecological data to uncover hidden diversity. With the rise of genomic tools, previously unrecognized species like S. curiosolus are being discovered, highlighting the need for conservation strategies that account for cryptic biodiversity.” Dupuis adds.

Collaboration in conservation

The Curiously Isolated Hairstreak reminds us that even the smallest and most overlooked species can hold extraordinary scientific and conservation significance.

“Our studies on S. curiosolus and S. semiluna highlight the importance of collaboration between academic scientists, nonprofit organizations, and conservation managers. All of this work was made possible through partnerships between academic researchers, Parks Canada, and the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. By combining expertise in genomics, field ecology, and conservation management, we were able to produce findings that not only reshape our understanding of biodiversity but also provide actionable insights for species protection. Moving forward, these interdisciplinary collaborations will be critical for tackling complex conservation challenges and ensuring the long-term survival of species like S. curiosolus,” added MacDonald.

The future of Satyrium curiosolus

A close-up photo of white caterpillars in soil, with several small ants interacting with them. — Title: S. curiosolus larvae being attended to by Lasius ponderosae ants.

Recognizing S. curiosolus as a distinct species is just the beginning, the researchers say. Future research should explore its evolution and interactions with other species like host plants and ants. Additionally, long-term monitoring by Parks Canada and the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo will be essential to assess how this species copes with climate change and what conservation actions are appropriate. “This is a wonderful example of how such monitoring can connect diverse approaches and impactful answers to a simple question like ‘that’s odd – why is it there?’”, says anchor author Felix Sperling, a professor at the University of Alberta and curator of the U of A’s Strickland Museum of Entomology.

“For now, the Curiously Isolated Hairstreak reminds us that even the smallest and most overlooked species can hold extraordinary scientific and conservation significance,” the researchers say in conclusion.

Research article:

MacDonald ZG, Dupuis JR, Glasier JRN, Sissons R, Moehrenschlager A, Shaffer HB, Sperling FAH (2025) Genomic and ecological divergence support recognition of a new species of endangered Satyrium butterfly (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). ZooKeys 1234: 291-307. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1234.143893

A new name for one of the world’s rarest rhinoceroses

Recognizing the Sundaic rhinoceros as a separate genus not only improves scientific understanding but also has important implications for conservation efforts.

A new study revealed significant differences in the appearance and behaviour of the two one-horned Asiatic rhinoceros species, challenging long-standing classifications and supporting a re-evaluation of their status.

A photo of a one-horned rhinoceros standing amidst lush green foliage. — Sundaic rhinoceros (*Eurhinoceros sondaicus*). Photo by Toby Nowlan

The study, led by zoologist Francesco Nardelli and paleontologist Kurt Heißig, highlights how millions of years of evolutionary pressures have shaped the distinct adaptations of the Indian (Rhinoceros unicornis) and Sundaic (Rhinoceros sondaicus)rhinoceroses. The critically endangered Sundaic rhinoceros has a slender skull, a broader and lower back of the head, and a shorter nose and teeth suited for browsing leaves. In contrast, the Indian rhinoceros has a more robust skull and taller teeth adapted for grazing on grasses.

“Adaptations of large terrestrial mammals to various environments are linked to the diversity of food items they can consume, which is reflected in the variation of their dental and cranial morphologies,” the researchers write in their paper, published in the journal ZooKeys. “In rhinoceroses, these adaptations are identified in their teeth structure and head posture.”

The Sundaic rhinoceros, now confined to Java’s Ujung Kulon peninsula, is a browsing species with uniquely polygonal-patterned skin and, unlike any other living rhinoceros, hornless females. In contrast, the Indian rhinoceros is a grazer of riverine grasslands in northern India and Nepal. With deep skin folds and a heavier build, the Indian rhinoceros is considerably larger than its Sundaic relative. It is superseded in size only by the elephant and the white rhinoceros, with males weighing more than 2,000 kg and females reaching 1,600 kg.

Indian rhinoceros (*Rhinoceros unicornis*). Photo by Olivier Bacquet

Fossil evidence confirms that these differences evolved independently over a long period of time. The authors maintain that they represent fundamental anatomical and ecological distinctions and reflect deep evolutionary adaptations.

The behaviour of the two species also differs significantly, with the Sundaic rhinoceros being solitary wanderers and Indian rhinoceros forming temporary crashes.

“Both species possess unique adaptations for survival, emphasising the importance of understanding their systematics for effective conservation,” the researchers write in their paper.

Based on these findings, the scientists propose a more precise scientific name for the Sundaic rhino: Eurhinoceros sondaicus. “Recognizing Eurhinoceros sondaicus as a distinct genus provides a more accurate reflection of its evolutionary history and ecological specialization,” they assert. “This refined classification not only enhances our understanding of rhinoceros evolution but also provides a clearer framework for conservation planning, helping to tailor strategies for the protection of these critically endangered animals.”

Original Source:

Nardelli F, Heißig K (2025) A taxonomic review of the genus Rhinoceros with emphasis on the distinction of Eurhinoceros (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae). ZooKeys 1230: 303-333. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1230.127858

In pursuit of a poison frog — and a culturally appropriate name

Researchers tracked down a new species along Colombia’s Pacific coast, naming it in honor of an Afro-Colombian music style.

When Rebecca Tarvin was a graduate student studying toxins in the skins of poisonous frogs, she and her colleague Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar collected a frog in Colombia that they suspected was a new species. It differed in coloration from a similar Colombian frog in the genus Epipedobates and had a different mating call.

A photo of two women exploring a lush forest floor, one holding a stick and the other holding a plastic bottle with a cut-out bottom, as they are surrounded by green leaves and fallen brown foliage. — Rebecca Tarvin and Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar attempt to catch a frog. Photo credit: Juan Camilo Ríos Orjuela

In 2022, eight years later and a newly appointed assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Tarvin met up with Colombian biologists to collect more of these frogs and confirm a new species. Such “holotype specimens” are necessary to document a new species for posterity. Collecting specimens and identifying new species also helps scientists track the impact of environmental changes and understand the evolutionary origin of traits such as skin toxins, which may one day have medical uses.

A photo of tagged frog specimens lined up on a flat surface. — Some of the specimens including the holotype (bottom left) prepared for the Museo de Historia Natural C. J. Marinkelle at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and UC Berkeley’s Museum of Verterbrate Zoology. Photo credit: Rebecca D. Tarvin, UC Berkeley

Collecting the frogs was easy; they seem to thrive along roadsides and in semiurban areas. But what to name the species? A Colombian colleague played for the team a tape of local marimba-based music called bambuco, and one style, called bambuco viejo, or currulao, stood out. The name Epipedobates currulao seemed appropriate, and with this month’s publication of a paper describing the new species in the journal ZooKeys, it’s now official.

“We ended up going with currulao because we liked how it brought in the human perspective,” Tarvin said. “The frog is part of the sound landscape; when they call, it’s part of the background noise in the region. Similarly, currulao is more than just a genre of music. It’s also the cultural practices around the music, the gathering, dancing and the relationship-forming aspects of the experience.”

A performance by Cantadoras del Pacifico at the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Currulao, which combines marimbas and drums, is popular in black communities along Colombia’s Pacific coast.

Tarvin is still investigating the toxins produced by frogs in the genus Epipedobates, which is small, containing about eight species, but is the most recently evolved group of poisonous frogs in South America. By comparing the genetics of these frogs with other poison frog groups, she hopes to understand how their chemical defense technique evolved. Most poisonous animals are brightly colored to advertise their unpalatability, such as the Monarch butterfly’s bright orange color and the gaudy orange, black and blue of poison dart frogs. But Epipedobates frogs are more subtly colored, if not downright drab. Perhaps, she said, bright coloration evolves after the frogs develop their toxic defenses.

A small frog with a yellow stripe on its side sits among leaves and twigs on the forest floor. — An adult individual of Epipedobates currulao in Vadrilleros, Valle de Cauca, Colombia. Photo credit: Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar

Epipedobates acquired its chemical defenses more recently than any other group in the poison frog family and shows the largest range in color and defense, Tavin said, but they’re also interesting because of how they acquire their toxicity.

“What’s unique about poison frogs, specifically, is that they sequester toxins from their food, so it’s an entirely different kind of defense that requires an entirely different physiology, compared to venom-producing animals, like snakes and bees,” she said. “Poison frogs eat arthropods that have small amounts of chemicals that can be either toxic or distasteful. And then they accumulate those to levels that become relevant for their own predators.”

Tarvin offers one piece of advice: Because they’re covered in poisons, don’t lick your fingers after picking one up.

Research article:

Betancourth-Cundar M, Ríos-Orjuela JC, Crawford AJ, Cannatella DC, Tarvin RD (2025) Honoring the Afro-Colombian musical culture with the naming of Epipedobates currulao sp. nov. (Anura, Dendrobatidae), a frog from the Pacific rainforests. ZooKeys 1226: 139-170. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1226.123803

This story was originally published by UC Berkeley. It is republished here with permission.

Oldest family of jewel wasps discovered from Cretaceous amber in Lebanon

The new family, Protoitidae, and 10 new species are described in a new paper published in Journal of Hymenoptera Research.

Jewel wasps (Chalcidoidea) are one of the most diverse groups of insects, with more than 120,000 species described and an estimated true diversity of nearly one million. The chalcids are parasitoid wasps, which attack other insects to lay their eggs upon in order to feed and grow within the host. The evolution and origin of this immense group has puzzled scientists for decades. Based on fossils and molecular work, the group is thought to have originated in the late Jurassic around 162 million years ago. Until recently, no confirmed fossils were known from earlier than 100 million years ago. Now, a newly described family, Protoidae, provides the first glimpse into how these wasps appeared at the earliest stages of their evolution.

Scientists Jonah M. Ulmer, Dr. Petr Janšta, and Prof. Dr. Lars Krogmann, from SMNS – State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, alongside Dr. Dany Azar from the Lebanese University describe the new family and 10 new species of jewel wasps in a paper in the open-access Journal of Hymenoptera Research.

The discovery of the family came about when one of the coauthors, Prof. Dr. Lars Krogmann, noticed an unusual fossil during a visit to the Natural History Museum in Paris. The specimen embedded in the amber had a long tail-like structure covering its ovipositor. “It was previously described as a completely different type of wasp, however the authors were quick to recognize it was indeed an ancient chalcid. Despite the prevalence of Chalcidoidea in the fossil record, none had ever been recorded from Lebanon or were known to be that old, nearly 130 million years old to be exact,” says Jonah Ulmer.

The researchers soon realized they had a new, and very old, family: currently the oldest known within the jewel wasps. “Multiple similar specimens in amber soon became apparent and the family now contains two genera, Protoita and Cretaxenomerus. The family name is derived from being a ‘proto’ form of the Chalcidoidea,” Ulmer explains.

These ancient species present a unique snapshot of what these wasps looked like in their earliest forms, this allows researchers to better understand the order of evolutionary events through time and when certain structures evolved that ultimately led to the massive diversity we see today.

The new family’s most striking characteristic is the long, shovel-like process, which extends from the end of the abdomen. While no living species have such a pronounced structure, it is hypothesized to have assisted with egg-laying and ovipositing or perhaps sifting through loose leaf litter for hosts.

The authors note that there are likely other equally old families of Chalcidoidea still lying in wait to be discovered, either in the ground or in old forgotten museum cabinets. “Protoitidae shows that we can keep looking further back in time than we expected and still find new, and old, species” says Ulmer.

Original source:

UImer JM, Janšta P, Azar D, Krogmann L (2023) At the dawn of megadiversity – Protoitidae, a new family of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 96: 879-924. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.105494

Follow the Journal of Hymenoptera Research on Facebook and X.

From Down Under to Underground: surprising daddy long-legs spiders discovered in Australia and Réunion

Both spiders were named after mythical underground creatures. The study was published in the journal Subterranean Biology.

Australia’s rich and diverse fauna never fails to surprise us, as a new spider species has been documented from the continent.

The novel species, a blind daddy long-legs, was found in boreholes in the arid Pilbara of Western Australia. It is the first cave-adapted daddy long-legs spider reported from the continent, with other blind species of its genus so far only found in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.

“It represents a subfamily that was previously thought to be restricted to the tropical north and east of the continent,” says Bernhard Huber, one of the authors of a recent study published in the journal Subterranean Biology.

“The new species suggests that these spiders were widely distributed in Australia before the continent’s aridification in the last tens of millions of years,” he adds.

Together with it, another extraordinary daddy long-legs species was described as new-to-science from Réunion island. It was collected in the Grotte de La Tortue, a 300,000-year-old lava tube. Its closest known relatives are in eastern Africa, which begs the question how the species reached the island.

Grotte de La Tortue. Photos by Credit T. Percheron

The researchers believe its ground-dwelling ancestor arrived to Réunion “relatively recently and by highly accidental means (such as rafts or storms)” but adapted quickly to subterranean life.

“If our generic assignment is correct, then the ancestor of Buitinga ifrit must have reached Réunion from East Africa within the last few million years,” they write in their paper.

Curiously, both spiders were named after mythical underground dwellers: Belisana coblynau,after “the mythical gnome-like creatures that are said to haunt mines and quarries,” and Buitinga ifrit, after “a demon in Islamic mythology that is often associated with the underworld.”

Original source:

Huber BA, Meng G, Clark HL, Cazanove G (2023) First blind daddy long-legs spiders from Australia and Réunion (Araneae, Pholcidae). Subterranean Biology 46: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.46.105798

Follow Subterranean Biology on social media:

facebook

twitter

New study in children with language deficits highlights importance of voluntary imagination in language evolution

Contrary to the common assumption, it is voluntary imagination rather than speech that appears to define the pace of combinatorial language evolution

Chimpanzees make use of cobbles to break nuts, but they do not modify them. *Homo habilis* was one of the earliest hominin species that intentionally modified cobbles to manufacture the crude, Mode One choppers. Homo habilis was only able to break out large flakes from a cobble; its voluntary control of its mental template was quite crude. *Homo erectus*, on the other hand, was able to break off much smaller flakes and produce the fine, symmetrical, Mode Two hand axes. Therefore, *Homo erectus* was most likely capable of finer voluntary control of its mental template. Image credit: Andrey Vyshedskiy.

Did the boy bite the cat, or was it the other way around?

When processing a sentence with several objects, one has to establish ‘who did what to whom’. When a sentence cannot be interpreted by recalling an image from memory, we rely on voluntary imagination to construct a novel mental image in our mind.

In a previous study, the team of Dr. Andrey Vyshedskiy, a neuroscientist from Boston University, USA, hypothesized that this voluntary imagination ability has fundamental importance for combinatorial language acquisition. To test the hypothesis, the researchers designed a voluntary imagination intervention and administered it to 6,454 children with language deficiencies (age 2 to 12 years).

In that three-year study, published in 2021, the scientists concluded that children, who were engaged with the voluntary imagination intervention, showed 2.2-fold improvement in combinatorial language comprehension compared to children with similar language deficiencies. These findings suggested that language can be improved by training voluntary imagination and confirmed the importance of the visuospatial component of language.

In his latest work, now published in the open-science scholarly journal Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO), Dr. Vyshedskiy builds on these experimental findings to address the question of language evolution and suggest that evolutionary acquisition of language was driven primarily by improvements of voluntary imagination, rather than the speech apparatus.

“Chimpanzees and bonobos can learn hundreds of words. However, apes that know the names of objects, colors, and sizes are not capable of identifying ‘a large red pencil’ among multi-colored, multi-sized pieces of Lego, crayons, and pencils. This suggests that apes cannot mentally integrate color, size and objects together. Thus, voluntary constructive imagination must have been acquired by humans after our ancestors split from chimpanzees 6 million years ago.
Evolutionary development of voluntary imagination can be traced back through the evolution of stone tools, since the process of hand ax manufacturing – for example – requires voluntary imagination of a future tool.
Apes do not manufacture stone tools, further confirming their imagination limitations.
Our ancestors started manufacturing crude Mode One choppers about 3.3 million years ago – the first indication of voluntary imagination ability. Then, two million years ago, the emergence of symmetrical Mode Two hand axes with a long cutting edge indicates a major improvement of both tool design and voluntary imagination. Later, approximately 400,000 years ago, the Neanderthals began manufacturing even better Mode Three tools, demonstrating even better voluntary imagination ability. Finally, about 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens dramatically extended their tool repertoire as they came up with bows and arrows, needles with eyes, flutes, and composite artworks. This is when most researchers recognize that humanity acquired the modern voluntary imagination ability.”
Dr. Vyshedskiy explains.

Dr. Vyshedskiy proposes that this step-wise development of voluntary imagination – and not the speech apparatus per se – was the key factor underlying the acquisition of modern combinatorial language.

There are several additional lines of evidence suggesting dissociation of articulate speech and voluntary imagination.

Firstly, there is significant genetic and archeological evidence that modern speech apparatus was acquired 600,000 years ago, which is quite a long time before acquisition of modern voluntary imagination 70,000 years ago.

Secondly, mirroring phylogenetic sequences, typical children develop articulate speech by their second year, two years before they acquire the voluntary imagination necessary to comprehend spatial prepositions, recursion, and complex fairy tales.

Thirdly, speech is not an obligatory component of combinatorial language at all. If early humans had voluntary imagination, they could have invented sign language. All formal sign languages include spatial prepositions and other recursive elements. This has been evidenced in the 1970s, when the largest natural experiment of language origin to date reported on 400 Nicaraguan deaf children from two schools who spontaneously invented a new combinatorial sign language in just a few generations. This means that the capacities of the speech apparatus could not have been a limiting factor in the acquisition of modern combinatorial language at all.

Fourthly, articulate sounds can be generated by gray parrots and thousands of other songbird species. However, these birds do not acquire combinatorial language. So, evolution of sound articulation is independent from and also a simpler process than improving voluntary imagination.

In conclusion, on the basis of children studies, neurological observations, archeological findings, combinatorial sign language invention by Nicaraguan deaf children, and variety of sound boxes in birds, Dr. Vyshedskiy argues that the evolution of hominin speech apparatus must have followed (rather than led to) the improvements in voluntary imagination.

Contrary to the common assumption, it is voluntary imagination rather than speech that appears to define the pace of combinatorial language evolution.

***

Original source:

Vyshedskiy A (2022) Language evolution is not limited to speech acquisition: a large study of language development in children with language deficits highlights the importance of the voluntary imagination component of language. Research Ideas and Outcomes 8: e86401. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.8.e86401

Follow RIO Journal on Twitter and Facebook.

Scientists unravel the evolution and relationships for all European butterflies in a first

For the first time, a complete time-calibrated phylogeny for a large group of invertebrates is published for an entire continent. A German-Swedish team of scientists provide a diagrammatic hypothesis of the relationships and evolutionary history for all 496 European species of butterflies currently in existence. Their study provides an important tool for evolutionary and ecological research, meant for the use of insect and ecosystem conservation.

For the first time, a complete time-calibrated phylogeny for a large group of invertebrates is published for an entire continent.

The figure shows the relationships of the 496 extant European butterfly species in the course of their evolution during the last 100 million years.
*Image by Dr Martin Wiemers*

In a recent research paper in the open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal ZooKeys, a German-Swedish team of scientists provide a diagrammatic hypothesis of the relationships and evolutionary history for all 496 European species of butterflies currently in existence. Their study provides an important tool for evolutionary and ecological research, meant for the use of insect and ecosystem conservation.

In order to analyse the ancestral relationships and history of evolutionary divergence of all European butterflies currently inhabiting the Old continent, the team led by Martin Wiemers – affiliated with both the Senckenberg German Entomological Institute and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, mainly used molecular data from already published sources available from NCBI GenBank, but also contributed many new sequences, some from very local endemics for which no molecular data had previously been available.

The phylogenetic tree also includes butterfly species that have only recently been discovered using molecular methods. An example is this Blue (*Polyommatus celina*), which looks similar to the Common Blue. It used to be mistaken for the Common Blue in the Canary Islands and the southwestern part of the Mediterranean Region.
*Photo by Dr Martin Wiemers*

Butterflies, the spectacular members of the superfamily Papilionoidea, are seen as an important proponent for nature conservation, as they present an excellent indicator group of species, meaning they are capable of inferring the environmental conditions of a particular habitat. All in all, if the local populations of butterflies are thriving, so is their habitat.

Furthermore, butterflies are pollinating insects, which are of particular importance for the survival of humans. There is no doubt they have every right to be recognised as a flagship invertebrate group for conservation.

While many European butterflies are seriously threatened, this one: Madeiran Large White (Pieris wollastoni) is already extinct. The study includes the first sequence of this Madeiran endemic which was recorded in 1986 for the last time. The tree demonstrates that it was closely related to the Canary Island Large White (Pieris cheiranthi), another threatened endemic butterfly, which survives only on Tenerife and La Palma, but is already extinct on La Gomera.
Photo by Dr Martin Wiemers

In recent times, there has been a steady increase in the molecular data available for research, however, those would have been only used for studies restricted either to a selected subset of species, or to small geographic areas. Even though a complete phylogeny of European butterflies was published in 2019, also co-authored by Wiemers, it was not based on a global backbone phylogeny and, therefore, was also not time-calibrated.

In their paper, Wiemers and his team point out that phylogenies are increasingly used across diverse areas of macroecological research, such as studies on large-scale diversity patterns, disentangling historical and contemporary processes, latitudinal diversity gradients or improving species-area relationships. Therefore, this new phylogeny is supposed to help advance further similar ecological research.

The study includes molecular data from 18 localised endemics with no public DNA sequences previously available, such as the Canary Grayling (Hipparchia wyssii), which is only found on the island of Tenerife (Spain).
Photo by Dr Martin Wiemers

Original source:

Wiemers M, Chazot N, Wheat CW, Schweiger O, Wahlberg N (2020) A complete time-calibrated multi-gene phylogeny of the European butterflies. ZooKeys 938: 97-124. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.938.50878