The new species Iphinotus lisae is described from Western Australia. It is similar to Iphinotus typicus (Thomson, 1882) which predominately occurs on the coast of New Zealand and around the Aukland Islands. The new species can be discriminated from Iphinotus typicus by its elongate antenna 1, the rounded basis lobe of pereopod 7 and lacking ramus of uropod 3. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Among others, “Darwin's dilemma” is referred to as Charles Darwin's perception that his theory on the origin of species suffers from a scarcity of fossil evidence such as transitional forms between taxa. In 1867, only a few years after the publication of Darwin's “Origin of Species”, Franz Hilgendorf published a phylogenetic tree of Miocene planorbid snails from the Steinheim meteorite crater lake in SW Germany. This tree was widely ignored by Darwin, although it would have been a perfect solution for his “dilemma”. Surprisingly, the reason for his ignorance was the influence of contemporary German and US palaeontologists, who had been followers of the “anti-Darwinian” orthogenesis concept, which implies the consistency of species and the refusal of the idea that one species may branch into two new species. During the last decades, several studies have supported the appropriateness of Hilgendorf's concept, whom S. J. Gould called one of the first “Darwinians”. With good reason his tree of planorbid snails is seen today as the first phylogenetic tree of fossils and one of the first fossil evidences for Darwin's descendent-theory. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

We report the discovery of a population of Trachemys grayi emolli in southern Honduras. Verification of the species was based on both morphological and molecular data (ND4, COI, ctyb). We discuss problems that arise from the use of sequences from non-vouchered pet trade and turtle farm samples for inferring phylogenetic relationships and confirming species identifications. We postulate that incongruence between mitochondrial and nuclear trees may relate to introgressive hybridisation amongst captive animals. This highlights the dangers of using pet trade specimens of uncertain origin and potential hybrid status in molecular phylogenetic studies. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

An overview is given of the species-group names in the families Fanniidae and Muscidae described by Paul Stein (1852–1921) together with their type specimens. Stein described 57 new species in the Fanniidae and 783 species in the Muscidae together with 5 replacement names, to which are added 6 unavailable species names (nomina nuda) in Fanniidae and 26 in Muscidae. A brief account of his life and career and of the various collections that he studied is given, followed by an alphabetical list of the species-group names within the Fanniidae and Muscidae. The type specimens (holotypes and syntypes) that have been located in museums and institutes throughout Europe and the United States are enumerated. The bibliography includes all the papers published by Stein on these families. The account concludes with three appendices: a systematic list of the species, a list of the species by zoogeographic region, and a list of the localities mentioned in Stein's papers. Four lectotypes are designated (Homalomyia carbonella Stein, 1895; Homalomyia lineata Stein, 1895; Fannia nigra Stein, 1920; Mydaea pallidicornis Stein in Becker, 1910), and two replacement names for junior homonyms are given (Neodexiopsis simplicissima nom. nov. for Coenosia simplex Stein, 1920, and Helina steini nom. nov. for Aricia punctata Stein, 1898, both from the Nearctic Region). (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Approximately 150 specimens of amphibians and reptiles donated by Graf von Borcke in the first years of the museum's existence are still present in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB). Based on information published by Blasius Merrem and additional historical sources, it can be determined that a portion of von Borcke's collection was purchased from the estate of Willem Xaver Janssen (= Wilhelm Xaver Jansen) and that this was probably obtained indirectly (possibly via Adrianus van Royen) from the second collection of Albertus Seba, auctioned in 1752. Comparison of the von Borcke material with Seba's illustrations reveals five credible and 18 questionable matches. Most convincing is a specimen of Python sebae partly dissected to show a bird in its abdomen. The Seba figure of this specimen is an iconotype of Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820. An additional ten ZMB specimens are possible matches to Seba illustrations that have served as iconotypes. The stylized appearance of many of Seba's figures, particularly those of snakes, makes the unambiguous identification of surviving Seba specimens difficult. In addition, five snake specimens are probable matches to specimens from Janssen's collection that were described and figured by Merrem. Three of these are type specimens of subsequently described species, including the widespread and invasive Boiga irregularis (Bechstein, 1802). A combination of historical information and specimen correspondences yields a strong case for the survival of a large part of Seba's herpetological collection in Berlin. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)