Features of the accumulation of macroplastic on the river bottom in the Mekong delta and the impact on fish and decapods.

For the first time, a quantitative assessment of this pollutant was made at the bottom of the rivers of the Mekong basin, and the features of its accumulation and dynamics in bottom sediments and relationship with abundance of fish and decapods were investigated. Sampling of materials for the research was carried out by bottom trawls in the Mekong delta in Vietnam. The amount of macroplastic caught by the trawl from the bottom averaged 33.

A peculiar new species of gall-inducing, clearwing moth (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) associated with in the Atlantic Forest.

Larvae of most clearwing moths (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) are endophagous borers of many angiosperms, including their fruits, stems, and roots. Their localized feeding may lead to swellings on those plant parts, but whether the structures produced should be considered true galls is still controversial. In this study we describe a peculiar sesiid moth, whose larvae induce unusual, external galls on (Vell.

Large-scale phylogenetic analyses provide insights into unrecognized diversity and historical biogeography of Asian leaf-litter frogs, genus Leptolalax (Anura: Megophryidae).

Southeast Asia and southern China (SEA-SC) harbor a highly diverse and endemic flora and fauna that is under increasing threat. An understanding of the biogeographical history and drivers of this diversity is lacking, especially in some of the most diverse and threatened groups. The Asian leaf-litter frog genus Leptolalax Dubois 1980 is a forest-dependent genus distributed throughout SEA-SC, making it an ideal study group to examine specific biogeographic hypotheses.

The Transcriptomes of Xiphinema index and Longidorus elongatus Suggest Independent Acquisition of Some Plant Parasitism Genes by Horizontal Gene Transfer in Early-Branching Nematodes.

Nematodes have evolved the ability to parasitize plants on at least four independent occasions, with plant parasites present in Clades 1, 2, 10 and 12 of the phylum. In the case of Clades 10 and 12, horizontal gene transfer of plant cell wall degrading enzymes from bacteria and fungi has been implicated in the evolution of plant parasitism. We have used ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNAseq) to generate reference transcriptomes for two economically important nematode species, and , representative of two genera within the early-branching Clade 2 of the phylum Nematoda.

A new genus and species of clearwing moths (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) from South Sudan.

A new clearwing moth genus and species is described and illustrated from South Sudan: Lolibaia salimi gen. nov. et sp.

On the taxonomy and morphology of (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae).

In this paper I place the type species Eublepharis ruficincta Felder et Felder, 1874 presently assigned to the genus Leuthneria Dalla Torre, 1925 to the genus Melittia Hübner, 1819 ["1816"]. The adults and the male genitalia Melittia ruficincta (Felder et Felder, 1874) comb. rev.

A new species of genus (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from northern Thailand.

We describe a new species of frog in the dicroglossid genus from Ban Monjong, Omkoi District, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. Analysis of DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial gene 16S, advertisement calls, and morphological distinctiveness support recognition of the new species. Matrilineal genealogy suggests that the new population from Chiang Mai is a sister taxon to the South Asian clade that includes , , and .

A novel multilocus phylogenetic estimation reveals unrecognized diversity in Asian horned toads, genus Megophrys sensu lato (Anura: Megophryidae).

The horned toad assemblage, genus Megophrys sensu lato, currently includes three groups previously recognized as the genera Atympanophrys, Xenophrys and Megophrys sensu stricto. The taxonomic status and species composition of the three groups remain controversial due to conflicting phenotypic analyses and insufficient phylogenetic reconstruction; likewise, the position of the monotypic Borneophrys remains uncertain with respect to the horned toads. Further, the diversity of the horned toads remains poorly understood, especially for widespread species.

Larval morphology and complex vocal repertoire of Rhacophorus helenae (Anura: Rhacophoridae), a rare flying frog from Vietnam.

We present new data on the distribution, reproduction, larval morphology and vocalization of Rhacophorus helenae (Rhacophoridae), a narrowly distributed frog from southern Vietnam. Two new populations of R. helenae were discovered during field surveys in the lowland monsoon forests in Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces in 2010-2013.

Horizontal Gene Transfer from Bacteria Has Enabled the Plant-Parasitic Nematode Globodera pallida to Feed on Host-Derived Sucrose.

The evolution of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) is unusual in that these organisms have acquired a range of genes from bacteria via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). The proteins encoded by most of these genes are involved in metabolism of various components of the plant cell wall during invasion of the host. Recent genome sequencing projects for PPN have shown that Glycosyl Hydrolase Family 32 (GH32) sequences are present in several PPN species.

A new species of the genus Oligodon Fitzinger, 1826 (Squamata: Colubridae) from coastal southern Vietnam.

A new species of the genus Oligodon from the coastal area of Binh Chau-Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, southern Vietnam, is described. Oligodon arenarius sp. nov.

Two new species of Kalophrynus Tschudi, 1838 (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Annamite mountains in southern Vietnam.

We describe two new mountain-dwelling microhylid species of the genus Kalophrynus from the southern part of the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam. The two new species differ from all known congeners in morphological characters and mtDNA; phylogenetically, they form a sister clade to the large-bodied K. interlineatus (1009 bp, 16S rRNA gene, mtDNA).

A new genus and two new nematode species (Drilonematoidea: Ungellidae: Synoecneminae) parasitic in two morphs of Drawida ghilarovi Gates, endemic earthworm from the Russian Far East.

Drasico n. g. is erected to accommodate two new species of nematode, Drasico nemoralis n.

A new species of the genus Calotes Cuvier, 1817 (Squamata: Agamidae) from southern Vietnam.

We describe a new species of the agamid genus Calotes Cuvier, 1817 from southern Vietnam, which is most similar to Calotes mystaceus Duméril & Bibron, 1837, but can be distinguished from the latter and its other congeners by genetic and morphological differences. We discuss the current distribution of the new species and its sister species C. mystaceus in Mainland Southeast Asia.

Angiostoma glandicola sp. n. (Nematoda: Angiostomatidae): a parasite in the land snail Megaustenia sp. from the Cat Tien Forest, Vietnam.

The nematode Angiostoma glandicola sp. n. found parasitizing Megaustenia sp.