12 species named this week: an orange-throated lizard, Laotian karst snails, and six fungi (2026)

The week's new names run from an orange-throated lizard on the China–Myanmar border to microscopic fungi isolated from plant roots and fungal sclerotia. Four of the species are tiny operculate snails from the limestone karst of Laos, where shell ribs and peristomes carry the identifying details.

This representative digest covers 12 species described in primary papers published from August 21 through August 27, 2026. A registry-wide weekly export from WoRMS, GBIF, and Zoological Record was unavailable, so the set represents dated journal publications rather than a worldwide total.

A lizard at the China–Myanmar border

Acanthosaura aurantiogularis

Name and taxonomy: The authors recommend the English name Orange-throated Pricklenape. Taxonomy: Chordata → Reptilia → Squamata (the paper's title uses Lacertilia) → Agamidae → Acanthosaura. 1
Locality and habitat: The type locality is Yinggou Village, Fuyan Township, Menglian County, Pu'er, Yunnan Province, China, at 1,154 metres. The species lives in preserved evergreen broadleaf forest. Paratypes were found at night beside a medium-sized stream, sleeping on plant stems about one metre above the ground. 1
Describers and specimens: Kai Wang, Zhuo-Yu Lu, and Jing Che are the taxon authors. The wider paper is by Wang, Lu, Gui-Gang Zhao, Wei Shi, Ru-Wen Wan, Na Zhu, Jie-Qiong Jin, and Che, with affiliations including the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute; and forestry institutes in Pu'er. The holotype male was collected on July 23, 2025, and the two female paratypes on July 20, 2025; all are held by the Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology. 1
Distinguishing form: Males have a large bright-orange gular spot, a flesh-coloured mouth and tongue, and an olive-green back scattered with bright-green enlarged scales. The nuchal crest has five or six enlarged scales, the middorsal crest has 41 scales, and toe IV carries 23 or 24 subdigital lamellae. The discontinuous black eye patch and neck collar also separate the species from close relatives. 1
Threat status: No formal IUCN assessment is reported. The species is currently known from its type locality, while the authors expect it may also occur in adjacent northern Shan State, Myanmar. 1

A planthopper from bamboo

Reptalus (Pererepa) inaequalis

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Arthropoda → Insecta → Hemiptera → Cixiidae → Reptalus; subgenus Pererepa. 2
Locality and habitat: The type locality is Shaowu City, Fujian Province, China, at 27°36'N, 117°49'E. Adults were swept from bamboo. The holotype and 12 paratypes were collected on May 28, 2012, and deposited in the Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University. 2
Describers and affiliations: Sha-Sha Lv, Zi-Zhong Li, and Xiang-Sheng Chen are the taxon authors. The paper's six authors are affiliated with Guizhou University, Anshun University, and Guizhou Medical University, including Guizhou University's Guizhou Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biosecurity and Institute of Entomology. 2
Distinguishing form: Males measure 8.5–9.5 millimetres and females 9.3–10.4 millimetres. The body is black with yellowish-brown carinae; the forewings are semi-translucent light greyish brown with a dark-brown stigma. The pygofer, anal segment, and gonostyli are asymmetrical, and the aedeagus has seven processes, including a hawk-beaked ventral process and an unequal forked dorsal process. 2
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal IUCN or equivalent assessment. 2

Four snails from Laotian limestone

A single ZooKeys paper describes four Alycaeinae species from limestone-rich areas of Vientiane Province, Laos. Their shells are only a few millimetres across, yet the number and shape of ribs, the coiling of the apertural tube, and the peristome—the thickened lip around the shell opening—separate the species. 3

Dioryx feuangensis

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Mollusca → Gastropoda → Architaenioglossa, within Caenogastropoda → Cyclophoridae → Dioryx. 3
Locality and habitat: The type locality is Pha Thor in Feuang District, Vientiane Province, Laos, at 225 metres. Collectors found the shells on the forest floor around limestone outcrops. Additional shells came from Pha Reung, at 360 metres, in the same district. 3
Describers and affiliations: Parin Jirapatrasilp and Khamla Inkhavilay described the species. Jirapatrasilp is affiliated with the Animal Systematics Research Unit at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand; Inkhavilay works with the National University of Laos. 3
Distinguishing form: The conical-globular shell measures about 8.5–9.5 by 8.0–8.5 millimetres. Spiral striation is absent. The outer peristome expands prominently and has an irregular perimeter, while the umbilicus remains open. 3
Threat status: The paper reports no formal IUCN assessment. The species is known from limestone areas in Feuang District, where the authors call attention to karst sites outside the region's Key Biodiversity Areas. 3

Dicharax feuangensis

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Mollusca → Gastropoda → Architaenioglossa, within Caenogastropoda → Cyclophoridae → Dicharax. 3
Locality and habitat: The only reported locality is an unnamed limestone hill in Feuang District, Vientiane Province, Laos, at 320 metres, where the type series was collected on October 7, 2024. 3
Describers and affiliations: Jirapatrasilp and Inkhavilay are the describers, affiliated with Chulalongkorn University and the National University of Laos. 3
Distinguishing form: The depressed-conical shell is about 1.0 millimetre high and 1.9 millimetres wide. The first whorl carries sharp radial ribs, the third whorl has about 21 ribs, and the apertural tube runs nearly parallel to the shell's horizontal axis. The outer peristome is thickened and slightly expanded at the columellar corner. 3
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal IUCN assessment. The known range consists of the type locality in Feuang District. 3

Dicharax pallgergelyi

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Mollusca → Gastropoda → Architaenioglossa, within Caenogastropoda → Cyclophoridae → Dicharax. 3
Locality and habitat: The type locality is the same unnamed limestone hill in Feuang District, Vientiane Province, Laos, at 320 metres. The holotype and paratypes were collected on October 7, 2024. 3
Describers and affiliations: Jirapatrasilp and Inkhavilay described the species from their Chulalongkorn University and National University of Laos affiliations. The name honours malacologist Barna Páll-Gergely. 3
Distinguishing form: The shell is 1.4–1.5 millimetres high and 2.1–2.4 millimetres wide. Its second whorl has about 25 ribs that thicken toward the end, while the third whorl has very fine, close-set ribs. A blunt, thick, protruding inner peristome and a thick, multilayered outer peristome distinguish it from Dicharax notus. 3
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal IUCN assessment. The known range consists of the type locality in Feuang District. 3

Pincerna panhai

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Mollusca → Gastropoda → Architaenioglossa, within Caenogastropoda → Cyclophoridae → Pincerna. 3
Locality and habitat: The type locality is the same unnamed limestone hill in Feuang District, Vientiane Province, Laos, at 320 metres. Additional material came from limestone hills near Xinxayyaram Temple and Pha Reung, at 280 and 360 metres. 3
Describers and affiliations: Jirapatrasilp and Inkhavilay are the describers. The name honours Thai malacologist Somsak Panha, while the authors' relevant affiliations are Chulalongkorn University and the National University of Laos. 3
Distinguishing form: The solid, translucent shell is whitish to pale crimson and measures about 3.8–4.0 by 4.1–4.3 millimetres. The second whorl has roughly 25 thick, blunt ribs; the third has about three ribs; and the expanded outer peristome closes the umbilicus. 3
Threat status: The paper reports no formal IUCN assessment. The species is known from limestone areas in Feuang District. 3

Three Trichoderma species from China

The three new fungi below were identified with morphology and molecular phylogeny. The shared placement is Ascomycota → Sordariomycetes → Hypocreales → Hypocreaceae → Trichoderma. The paper gives no common names and no formal conservation assessments for the three species. 4

Trichoderma diqingense

Locality and substrate: The species was isolated from the sclerotium of Ophiocordyceps sinensis in Shangri-La City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, at 3,220 metres. Fang-Wei Lou collected the material on July 16, 2025. 4
Describers and affiliations: F.-W. Lou, Z.-L. Yang, and Y.-B. Wang described the species. Lou is affiliated with the School of Chinese Materia Medica at Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Yang and Wang are affiliated with the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 4
Distinguishing form: The species has pyramidal conidiophore branching and narrow lageniform phialides. Its slightly rough-walled conidia are ellipsoidal to globose, light green, and about 2.4–3.5 by 1.5–2.9 micrometres in the main measured range. Chlamydospores were not observed, and the culture lacked a coconut-like odour. 4
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal IUCN or equivalent assessment. 4

Trichoderma dracaenae

Locality and substrate: The species was isolated from a healthy root of Dracaena sp. in Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, at 688 metres. Lou collected the material on March 4, 2025. 4
Describers and affiliations: F.-W. Lou, Z.-L. Yang, and Y.-B. Wang described the species from the same Yunnan research institutions. 4
Distinguishing form: Its conidiophores have a distinct cylindrical main axis with two or three branches. The ampulliform phialides are broad, and the green conidia are smooth-walled, subglobose to globose, measuring about 2.8–3.4 by 2.6–3.1 micrometres in the main range. The species lacks the coconut-like odour reported for T. sphaerosporum. 4
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal IUCN or equivalent assessment. 4

Trichoderma yuxiense

Locality and substrate: The species was isolated from the sclerotium of Ophiocordyceps jinguangensis in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, China, at 2,434 metres. Lou collected the material on July 26, 2024. 4
Describers and affiliations: F.-W. Lou, Z.-L. Yang, and Y.-B. Wang described the species, with affiliations at Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 4
Distinguishing form: The phialides are long and narrow, ampulliform to lageniform, and the conidia are smooth-walled, hyaline, subglobose to broadly ellipsoidal. Rare, mostly terminal chlamydospores are present. The main conidial measurements are about 2.4–3.5 by 1.5–2.5 micrometres. 4
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal IUCN or equivalent assessment. 4

Three wood-inhabiting fungi from Yunnan

The final trio grows on fallen angiosperm branches in southwestern China. The paper places all three in Basidiomycota → Polyporales → Phanerochaetaceae; its taxonomic accounts do not state a class. Each species causes white rot, and the authors distinguish them through microscopic structures such as cystidia, basidia, and basidiospores. 5

Phanerochaete albomarginata

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Basidiomycota → class not stated in the paper → Polyporales → Phanerochaetaceae → Phanerochaete. 5
Locality and substrate: The species was collected on a fallen angiosperm branch in Weiyuanjiang Provincial Nature Reserve, Jinggu County, Pu'er, Yunnan Province, China, at 1,005 metres. C.L. Zhao collected the holotype on October 3, 2025. 5
Describers and affiliations: Q. Li and C.L. Zhao described the species. The paper's authors are affiliated with Southwest Forestry University, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Jinggu County, and the Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research in Germany. 5
Distinguishing form: The membranaceous fruiting body has a monomitic hyphal system and abundant tapering cystidia measuring 27–59 by 5–6.5 micrometres. Its four-spored basidia measure 25–32 by 6–7.5 micrometres, and its smooth, ellipsoid basidiospores measure about 7.1–9.2 by 4.1–4.9 micrometres in the main range. 5
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal extinction-risk assessment. 5

Phanerochaete nigella

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Basidiomycota → class not stated in the paper → Polyporales → Phanerochaetaceae → Phanerochaete. 5
Locality and substrate: The species grows on a fallen angiosperm branch in Mangyu Grand Canyon, Jinggu County, Pu'er, Yunnan Province, China, at 1,200 metres. The holotype was collected by C.L. Zhao on October 6, 2025; a paratype came from the same locality on November 15. 5
Describers and affiliations: Q. Li and C.L. Zhao described the species from the Southwest Forestry University, Jinggu forestry bureau, and Helmholtz-Centre research team. 5
Distinguishing form: The coriaceous fruiting body has a tuberculate hymenial surface that is grey when fresh and grey to black when dry. Tubular cystidia measure 23–47 by 3–4.5 micrometres, and ellipsoid basidiospores measure about 4.7–5.7 by 2.5–3.2 micrometres. The species causes white rot. 5
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal extinction-risk assessment. 5

Rhizochaete membranacea

Name and taxonomy: No common name is given. Taxonomy: Basidiomycota → class not stated in the paper → Polyporales → Phanerochaetaceae → Rhizochaete. 5
Locality and substrate: The species was collected on a fallen angiosperm branch in Yaoshan National Nature Reserve, Yaoshan Town, Qiaojia County, Zhaotong, Yunnan Province, China, at 3,251 metres. C.L. Zhao collected the holotype on August 22, 2020; a paratype came from the same locality at 3,200 metres on November 2, 2025. 5
Describers and affiliations: Q. Li and C.L. Zhao described the species, with the paper's affiliations at Southwest Forestry University, the Jinggu forestry bureau, and the Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research. 5
Distinguishing form: The membranaceous fruiting body has a smooth, cracked hymenial surface and hyphae encrusted with granular material or crystals. Numerous heavily encrusted lamprocystidia measure 24–45 by 8–11 micrometres; ellipsoid basidiospores measure about 4.0–5.5 by 2.7–3.1 micrometres. The species causes white rot. 5
Threat status: The source paper gives no formal extinction-risk assessment. 5

What the threat labels tell us

Only the paper on Acanthosaura aurantiogularis describes a species known from a single type locality while pointing toward possible habitat beyond the border; the four Laotian snails are likewise tied to small limestone areas. The papers provide a formal extinction-risk category for none of the 12 species. That status records the state of assessment in these descriptions, while the locality records show where future surveys and conservation work can begin.

For this week, the names are especially tied to microhabitats: a streamside stem in evergreen forest, bamboo, limestone outcrops, fungal sclerotia, plant roots, and fallen branches. The taxonomic details make those places visible. A bright throat, a seven-process aedeagus, a shell's rib pattern, or a fungus's encrusted cystidia can turn a specimen from an overlooked sample into a species with a name.

12 species named this week: an orange-throated lizard, Laotian karst snails, and six fungi