Fishes

Caelorinchus vityazae

Iwamoto, Tomio, Shcherbachev, Yuri N., Marquardt, Bryan. 2004.Grenadiers (Gadiformes, Teleostei) of Walters Shoals,
southwestern Indian Ocean, with description of a new "West-Wind D rift" species. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 55(1-12). 190-207.

Abstract

During cruise 17 of the Vityaz', numerous specimens of a new species of Caelorinchus, C. vityazae, were collected off Walters Shoals in the Indian Ocean south of Madagascar. The new species is here described from 32 specimens collected at five different localities within the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian Ocean in the biogeographical area defined by Collette and Parin (1991) as the West Wind Drift Island Province. Caelorinchus vityazae is a member of the C. fasciatus species group whose 14 members are confined primarily to temperate waters of the southern hemisphere, with most species found off Australia and New Zealand. The new species can be distinguished from others of the Glade by the combination of having 10-11 prominent saddle marks, a naked underside of head, and a sharply pointed terminal snout scute. Of the 22 other species of grenadiers recorded from Walters Shoals, most are widespread in the southern hemisphere or circumglobal.

 Nudibranchs

Halgerda toliara

Fahey, Shireen J., Gosliner, Terrence M. 1999. Description of three new species of Halgerda from the Western Indian Ocean with a redescription of Halgerda formosa, Bergh 1880. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 51(8):365-383.

Abstract

Three new species of Halgerda are described from the tropical Indo-Pacific. Halgerda dalanghita sp. nov. is known from South Africa, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Halgerda dichromis sp. nov. is known from South Africa. Halgerda toliara sp. nov. is described from Madagascar. Comparison of the three new species is made with the original description and newly collected specimens of the type species, Halgerda formosa Bergh 1880 and other described members of the genus. The coloration, reproductive system and the radular morphology of these new species differ significantly from H. formosa and other previously described Halgerda species. Specimens of Halgerda formosa have been misidentified as H. punctata Farran, 1905 in recent literature and are compared here. Although these two species share some characteristics, they differ significantly in external and radular morphology.

Chromodoris kitae

Gosliner, T.M. 1994. New species of Chromodoris and Noumea (Nudibranchia: Chromodorididae) from the western Indian Ocean and Southern Africa. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 48 (12):239-252.

Abstract

Four new species of Chromodoris and one species of Noumea are described. Chromodoris lekker sp. nov. and C. pruna sp. nov., are known from more than one locality in the western Indian Ocean, while C. kitae sp. nov. is known only from northwestern Madagascar. Chromodoris heatherae sp. nov. and Noumea protea sp. nov. are restricted to the temperate waters of South Africa and appear to be more closely related to sister taxa from temperate Australia than to other congeners.

Diatoms

Gomphonema spp.

Spaulding, Sarah A., Kociolek, J. Patrick. 1998. New Gomphonema (Bacillariophyceae) species from Madagscar. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 50(16):361-379.

Abstract

Nine new species of diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) of the genus Gomphonema Ehrenberg are described from the island-continent of Madagascar. A number of the Madagascar taxa are astigmate, an unusual finding, since a large fraction of diatoms within the genus Gomphonema possess a central stigma. The astigmate taxa also possess the feature of an axial plate, solid thickenings of silica extending perpendicular from the axial area. These Gomphonema are unique because they are the only species within the genus known to possess such structures. Based on examination in the SEM, we suggest that the axial plates of the astigmate Gomphonema may not be homologous to the axial plates of other gomphonemoid diatoms (Gomphoneis herculeana group). We compare valve morphology of astigmate Gomphonema from Madagascar with that of astigmate Gomphonema of other regions. This comparison provides evidence that Gomphonema of Madagascar, South America, Africa and Asia are each limited to narrow biogeographic ranges. The rich diatom flora of Madagascar, especially of astigmate gomphonemoid forms with axial plates, forms a distinct endemic lineage.

Insects

Madachauliodes ranomafana “Fishfly”

Norman, Penny D. 1999. Madachauliodes ranomafana, a new Madagascan species of Chauliodinae (Megaloptera: Corydalidae), with a key to the world genera of Chauliodinae. Entomological News. 110(4). 193-200.

Abstract

A new species, Madachauliodes ranomafana, is described from Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar , and compared with M. torrentialis, the only other known species of the genus. An original key is given to known genera of Chauliodinae (Megaloptera: Corydalidae), of which Madachauliodes is a member.

Reptiles

Ebenavia spp. (redescription & diagnosis).

Bauer, Aaron M., Good, David A., Branch, William R. 1997. The taxonomy of the Southern African leaf-toed geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae), with a review of Old World Phyllodactylus and the description of five new genera. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 49(14):447-497

Abstract

Despite the removal of several monophyletic groups of leaf-toed geckos, the gekkonid genus Phyllodactylus remains polyphyletic. An evaluation of morphological features and allozymes suggest that Old World species assigned to the genus Phyllodactylus are not closely related to New World taxa, to which this generic name applies. Further, Old World species as a unit do not form a demonstrably monophyletic group. Osteological and external characters are used to describe and diagnose five new genera of leaf-toed geckos, each corresponding to a clade supported by apomorphic characters: Dixonius (two species, southeast Asia), Haemodracon (two species, Socotra Island, Yemen ), Cryptactites (monoptypic, South Africa ), Goggia (eight species, southern Africa ) and Afrogecko (three species, southern Africa ). In addition, the genus Euleptes Fitzinger 1843 is resurrected for a single species endemic to the Mediterranean region. Redescriptions and diagnoses are provided for two other currently recognized genera of leaf-toed geckos, Christinus from Australia and Ebenavia from Madagascar . Phyllodactylus is restricted to New World species only (although the monophyly of this group is not strongly established), with the Madagascan species P. brevipes remaining incertae sedis. The recognition of monophyletic units of leaf-toed gekkonids is a necessary step towards the reconstruction of phylogeny, but available higher order analyses do not suggest appropriate outgroups. Regardless of whether other African gekkonids or other leaf-toed gekkonids are chosen as the outgroup, character analysis supports a partially resolved pattern of relationship within the southern African genus Goggia. The preferred phylogeny for this genus is: (G. microlepidotus (G. gemmulus (G. lineatus (G. braacki, G. essexi, G. hewitti, G. hexaporus, G. rupicolus)))). Speciation events associated with the evolution of taxa in the unresolved portion of the phylogeny were probably simultaneous and related to Late Tertiary climatic changes in temperate southern Africa. If this is true, the lack of resolution in the phylogeny is real (representative of the synchronous loss of continuity between several populations) rather than artifactual. Genetic distances between species pairs in this group reflect both isolation by geographic distance prior to speciation and post-speciation divergence.

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