Periclimenes rectirostris Bruce, 1981 and Periclimenes josephi Li, 2008 are two palaemonid shrimps reported from the deep water in the western Pacific. Prior morphological studies suggest their systematic status might be problematic. Therefore, we attempted to re-evaluate the systematic status of the two species in this study. Based on an analysis incorporating molecular, morphological and ecological data, P. rectirostris is suggested to belong to the genus Sandimenes Li, 2009, but the systematic status of P. josephi is still undetermined due to the polyphyletic state of the genus Zenopontonia Bruce, 1975a. Meanwhile, a preliminary reconstruction of the evolutionary process of the echinoid-associated palaemonid shrimps is presented. Additionally, a well-supported clade mainly comprising the echinoderm or mollusc-associated taxa is recovered, and multiple host shifts are presumed to have occurred during their diversification.

Water striders (pond skaters) occur worldwide and are conspicuous in most aquatic environments, but the taxonomy of many groups remains unresolved. Here we revise the South American species of the Palaeo- and Neotropically distributed Cylindrostethus Mayr, 1865, a genus characterised by its long, cylindrical body and fast jumping-gliding locomotion. Using a cladistic analysis of morphological characters, we confirm the subdivision of Neotropical Cylindrostethus into two major groups. Nine species of Cylindrostethus are recognised from South America, one of which was recently discovered in Amazonian Brazil and Peru: C. bassleri Drake, 1952; C. bilobatus Kuitert, 1942; C. drakei, sp. nov.; C. hungerfordi Drake & Harris, 1934; C. linearis (Erichson, 1848); C. meloi Floriano & Cavichioli, 2013; C. palmaris Drake & Harris, 1934; C. podargus Drake, 1958; C. regulus (White, 1879). Two species are placed in synonymy: (C. podargus = C. stygius Drake, 1961, syn. nov.); (C. linearis = C. erythropus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1850), syn. nov.). A key to the nine species is provided, along with detailed descriptions and illustrations.

The largest genus of the family Sarcophagidae (Insecta, Diptera), Sarcophaga Meigen (sensu lato), has ∼160 subgenera; however, the validity and phylogenetic relationships of these are still unclear, impeding progress in evolutionary studies. This study presents a phylogenetic hypothesis for selected subgenera of Sarcophaga s.l. based on COI sequences (685 bp) for 87 species representing 27 valid subgenera. The subgenera Stackelbergeola Rohdendorf and Rohdendorfisca Grunin are reconsidered in the light of new molecular, morphological and biological data. The female is described for the first time for a representative of both subgenera, and Sarcophaga (Rohdendorfisca) flagellifera (Grunin) is shown to be a parasitoid of tettigoniid grasshoppers. As the male of Sarcophaga (Stackelbergeola) sushkini (Rohdendorf) is insufficiently documented in the literature, a redescription is provided based on material from Xinjiang, thereby providing the first record of this subgenus and species from China. Detailed documentation through photographs, scanning electron microscopy and illustrations of the adult morphology is also provided. The subgenera Stackelbergeola and Rohdendorfisca are shown to be monophyletic, together forming a monophylum supported by molecular and morphological data, and they are placed in a wider phylogenetic context of the megadiverse genus Sarcophaga s.l.

The infraorder Stenopodidea is a relatively small group of marine decapod crustaceans including the well known cleaner shrimps, but their higher taxonomy has been rather controversial. This study provides the most comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analyses of Stenopodidea using sequence data from two mitochondrial (16S and 12S rRNA) and two nuclear (histone H3 and sodium–potassium ATPase α-subunit (NaK)) genes. We included all 12 nominal genera from the three stenopodidean families in order to test the proposed evolutionary hypothesis and taxonomic scheme of the group. The inferred phylogeny did not support the familial ranking of Macromaxillocarididae and rejected the reciprocal monophyly of Spongicolidae and Stenopididae. The genera Stenopus, Richardina, Spongiocaris, Odontozona, Spongicola and Spongicoloides are showed to be poly- or paraphyletic, with monophyly of only the latter three genera strongly rejected in the analysis. The present results only strongly support the monophyly of Microprosthema and suggest that Paraspongiola should be synonymised with Spongicola. The three remaining genera, Engystenopus, Juxtastenopus and Globospongicola, may need to be expanded to include species from other genera if their statuses are maintained. All findings suggest that the morphological characters currently adopted to define genera are mostly invalid and substantial taxonomic revisions are required. As the intergeneric relationships were largely unresolved in the present attempt, the hypothesis of evolution of deep-sea sponge-associated taxa from shallow-water free-living species could not be verified here. The present molecular phylogeny, nevertheless, provides some support that stenopoididean shrimps colonised the deep sea in multiple circumstances.

The phylogenetic relationships of the Australian species of Feaellidae are assessed with a molecular analysis using mitochondrial (CO1) and nuclear (ITS2) data. These results confirm the morphological analysis that three previously undescribed species occur in the Pilbara bioregion, which are named and described: Feaella (Tetrafeaella) callani, sp. nov., F. (T.) linetteae, sp. nov. and F. (T.) tealei, sp. nov. The males of these three species, as well as males of F. anderseni Harvey and other unnamed species from the Kimberley region of north-western Australia, have a pair of enlarged, thick-walled bursa that are not found in other feaellids. Despite numerous environmental impact surveys for short-range endemic invertebrates in the Pilbara, very few specimens have been collected, presumably due to their relictual distributions, restricted habitat preferences and low densities.

 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:131F0587-F2EE-405F-BE5A-772F072D9915

Porcellanidae Haworth, 1825 is a family of marine anomuran crabs distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions of all the oceans, typically littoral and sublittoral waters, with a considerable diversity of lifestyles, habitats and colouration. Pachycheles Stimpson, 1858 and Neopisosoma Haig, 1960 share, among other morphological characteristics, the fragmentation of the lateral carapace walls. The morphology of this body region was key to supporting the establishment of Neopisosoma, which increased uncertainty about the taxonomic status of these genera due to the high intraspecific variation of this character. Our study reconstructs the phylogenetic relationship between Pachycheles and Neopisosoma based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to evaluate whether these are valid taxa. While Pachycheles seems to be monophyletic, the position of Neopisosoma mexicanum (Streets, 1871) indicates that the group is polyphyletic, and deserves further investigation. Pachycheles is revealed to be older than Neopisosoma, and likely originated in the Indo-Pacific, later spreading to the American continent during the early Tertiary. Neopisosoma may have arisen much later in the Caribbean Province before the closure of the Isthmus of Panama, explaining its distribution, which is restricted mainly to Central America. The inclusion of a considerable number of species from both genera represents a significant advance in the study of this controversial group. The phylogenetic reconstruction of Pachycheles unveiled clades corroborated by morphology, but also revealed unclear relationships, which may indicate the potential existence of cryptic species.