11 species named this week: a two-call glassfrog, Idaho's hidden spider, and four fungi

Forest, stream and estuary animals

Hexura vandal — an Idaho funnel-web spider

• Taxonomy: Arthropoda → Arachnida → Araneae → Antrodiaetidae → Hexura. The species belongs to the mygalomorph spiders, a group that includes trapdoor and funnel-web builders. 1
• Locality and habitat: The type locality is near Apgar Campgrounds, Lowell, Idaho, in the Rocky Mountains. The spiders occupy mesic conifer forest, making silken funnel webs under or inside logs and in moss mats. 1
• Describers and institutions: Arnau Calatayud-Mascarell, Ethan J. Briggs, and Chris A. Hamilton described the species. Their affiliations include the University of Idaho and the Australian Museum Research Institute. 1
• Distinguishing features: Morphological, molecular, and geographic evidence separates H. vandal from the two other described species. The Idaho lineage extends the known distribution of Hexura by about 500 kilometres from the Coastal Ranges and western Cascades of Oregon and Washington. 1
• Threat status: No formal IUCN assessment is reported. The paper describes the known range as extremely restricted and discusses logging, wildfire pressure, repeated searches, and the need for conservation action. 1

Vitreorana micaelae — a Cerrado glassfrog

• Taxonomy: Chordata → Amphibia → Anura → Centrolenidae → Vitreorana. The paper gives no common name beyond the English term "glassfrog" used for the group. 2
• Locality and habitat: The type locality is Luziânia, Goiás, Brazil: gallery forest beside a small stream near the São Bartolomeu River, at 826 metres. Gallery forest is a strip of woodland following a watercourse through a more open landscape. 2
• Describers and institutions: Wilian Vaz-Silva, Sheila Pereira de Andrade, Cezar Filho Rocha, Edmar Pereira Victor Jr., Reuber Albuquerque Brandão, and Natan Medeiros Maciel described the species. Their affiliations include Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Centro Tecnológico de Engenharia, and Universidade de Brasília. 2
• Distinguishing features: Adult males measure 21.7–26.1 millimetres from snout to vent. The frog has a rounded snout in dorsal view, a sloping profile, small enamel-like cloacal tubercles, and white iridophores over the pericardium, liver, and urinary bladder while most other visceral peritonea remain transparent. Its advertisement repertoire has a short call and a long call, with dominant frequencies around 4.65–4.76 kilohertz. 2
• Threat status: No formal IUCN assessment is reported. The paper identifies V. micaelae as the second known glassfrog endemic to the Cerrado. 2

Ilyoplax kagga — a mangrove mudflat crab

• Taxonomy: Arthropoda → Malacostraca → Decapoda → Dotillidae → Ilyoplax. 3
• Locality and habitat: The crab lives in upper mudflats among mangroves, soft mud, and oyster beds at the Aghanashini River Estuary in Karnataka, on India's west coast. The estuary is a Ramsar site, and the paper records crabs feeding among the pneumatophores of Rhizophora mangroves. 3
• Describers and institutions: Mani Prema, Vithal S. Kakati, and Peter K. L. Ng described the species. The authors are affiliated with the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore, the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology at Annamalai University, and the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. 3
• Distinguishing features: The rectangular, smooth carapace carries a stridulatory ridge with 22–24 subconical tubercles and 5–7 fungiform tubercles on its inner half. Males usually have unequal massive claws, and males have dense setae on the carpus and propodus of the second and third walking legs. 3
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. The name kagga honours an endemic, salt-tolerant rice variety cultivated traditionally at the type locality. 3

Insects with anatomical identification keys

Gryllotalpa xinjiangica — the Xinjiang mole cricket

• Taxonomy: Arthropoda → Insecta → Orthoptera → Gryllotalpidae → Gryllotalpa. The English common name above is a direct rendering of the Chinese name supplied by the paper. 4
• Locality and habitat: The species is recorded from Awati County and Xinhe County in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China, at 1,054 and 1,023 metres. The source treats the specimens as a northwestern Chinese terrestrial mole-cricket population. 4
• Describers and institutions: Ya-Rong Gu, Xin-Lan Deng, Ling Zhu, Yan Ma, and Ying Miao described the species. Their affiliations include the School of Agriculture at Ningxia University and the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Zhuxi County. 4
• Distinguishing features: The grey-brown cricket has yellowish ocelli, a Y-shaped stripe on the pronotum, four digging tibial dactyls, and hind tibiae without inner subapical spurs. Males have 69–83 teeth on the stridulatory file, while the hind wings reach the abdominal apex. The hourglass-shaped epiphallus and fan-shaped apex of the median prolongation provide additional male-genital characters. 4
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 4

Afissa parabicrescens — a Yunnan ladybird

• Taxonomy: Arthropoda → Insecta → Coleoptera → Coccinellidae → Afissa. No common name is given. 5
• Locality and habitat: The type locality is Tengchong City, Baoshan, Yunnan, China, at 2,155 metres. The type specimen was swept in the field; the wider material comes from several Yunnan localities, including forests and mountain areas. 5
• Describers and institutions: Xinning Zhang, Zihao Zhu, and Xingmin Wang described the species. They are affiliated with Shenzhen Senior High School, the Department of Entomology at South China Agricultural University, and the Engineering Research Center of Biological Control at the Ministry of Education. 5
• Distinguishing features: The 4.0–4.7-millimetre beetle has mostly reddish elytra with black maculae in a 2–2–1 pattern, a reddish head without a macula, and a longitudinal row of large punctures beside the elytral suture. Its stout penis guide separates it from the similar A. bicrescens. 5
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 5

Afissa longa — a second Yunnan ladybird

• Taxonomy: Arthropoda → Insecta → Coleoptera → Coccinellidae → Afissa. No common name is given. 5
• Locality and habitat: The type locality is Baihualing National Nature Reserve on Gaoligong Mountain, Baoshan, Yunnan, China, at 1,400 metres. The type male was collected with a sweeping net; additional specimens extend the published distribution to other Yunnan localities. 5
• Describers and institutions: Xinning Zhang, Zihao Zhu, and Xingmin Wang described A. longa from the same Shenzhen Senior High School and South China Agricultural University research team. 5
• Distinguishing features: The beetle measures 4.0–4.8 millimetres. Its reddish elytra carry black maculae in a 2–2–1–1 pattern, and a row of large punctures runs along the elytral suture. The male penis capsule has an elongated, enlarged outer arm, while the robust penis guide is crescent-shaped in lateral view. 5
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 5

Four fungi from eastern China

Botryobasidium fujianensis

• Locality and substrate: Wuyishan National Nature Reserve, Nanping, Fujian Province, China, at 586 metres, on rotten Cunninghamia wood. A second specimen came from a fallen Pinus branch in Tianbaoyan National Nature Reserve. 6
• Describers and institutions: Fang Wu, Wen Jing, Wan-Ying Li, and Yu-Cheng Dai are the taxon authors. The paper's research team includes Beijing Forestry University, the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Eötvös Loránd University. 6
• Distinguishing features: Its white to greyish-white hymenial surface is floccose to cottony. Tubular cystidioid accompany barrel-shaped basidia with four or six sterigmata, and pip-shaped basidiospores measure 6.0–7.9 × 2.3–3.4 micrometres. 6
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 6

Botryobasidium fusisporellum

• Locality and substrate: Wanmulin Nature Reserve, Jianou County, Nanping, Fujian Province, China, at 353 metres, on rotten wood. A paratype was found on soil over stone at the same reserve. 6
• Describers and institutions: Fang Wu, Wen Jing, Wan-Ying Li, and Yu-Cheng Dai described the species, within the same Beijing Forestry University-led collaboration. 6
• Distinguishing features: The floccose to cottony hymenial surface is white to greyish-white. Long barrel-shaped basidia bear two or four sterigmata, and the fusiform basidiospores measure 5.3–6.5 × 2.3–3.0 micrometres. 6
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 6

Botryobasidium subconiferarum

• Locality and substrate: Tianhuajing National Forest Park, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, China, at 125 metres, on a fallen angiosperm branch. 6
• Describers and institutions: Fang Wu, Wen Jing, Wan-Ying Li, and Yu-Cheng Dai described the species, with the study based at the same collaborating institutions. 6
• Distinguishing features: The white to greyish-white hymenial surface is floccose. The species has tubular cystidioid, four-sterigmate basidia, subcylindrical conidiophores, and pip-shaped basidiospores measuring 6.2–8.6 × 2.3–3.7 micrometres. 6
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 6

Botryobasidium macrosporum

• Locality and substrate: Yuexi County, Anqing, Anhui Province, China, at 724 metres, on an angiosperm trunk. 6
• Describers and institutions: Fang Wu, Wen Jing, Wan-Ying Li, and Yu-Cheng Dai described the species, in the Beijing Forestry University-led collaboration. 6
• Distinguishing features: The hymenial surface is white to cream and floccose, with occasional granules. Its fusiform basidiospores are the largest of the four new species, measuring 9.4–11.0 × 4.8–5.9 micrometres; the basidia have four to six sterigmata. 6
• Threat status: No formal IUCN or equivalent assessment is reported. 6

A bacterium at the maize root–soil boundary

Dyella cornirhiza

• Taxonomy: Proteobacteria → Gammaproteobacteria → Burkholderiales → Rhodanobacteraceae → Dyella. No common name is given. 7
• Locality and substrate: The type strain, CR191T, came from maize rhizosphere soil in Sanya City, Hainan Province, China, at 18°23′24″ N, 109°09′32″ E. Rhizosphere soil is the soil that remains tightly attached to a plant root after loose soil has been removed. 7
• Describers and institutions: Ying Li, Lei Shen, Miaomiao An, Xuming Wang, Guozhu Zhao, and Tianlei Qiu described the species. Their affiliations include Beijing Forestry University, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, and Langfang Normal University. 7
• Distinguishing features: CR191T consists of aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile rods measuring 0.4–0.6 × 1.5–2.5 micrometres. It forms smooth, yellow, opaque colonies about 1–1.5 millimetres across after five days at 30 °C. The strain's 16S similarity to close relatives is 98.15–98.23%, while ANI values are 79.0–86.6% and dDDH values are 20.2–28.7%, supporting species-level separation. The genome contains six putative secondary-metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters; the paper says the corresponding metabolites have not yet been experimentally verified. 7
• Threat status: No formal extinction-risk assessment is reported. 7