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Situated in the Eastern Mediterranean, the island of Cyprus is a biodiversity hotspot hosting an important number of endemic species. In recent years, its myrmecofauna has been increasingly enriched with the detection of both new alien and native species as well as the description of new endemic taxa. Nevertheless, earlier reports of dubious taxa remaining in scientific literature constitute an impediment towards the study of the island's biodiversity. This article summarizes the results of re-examination of a collection of ants deposited in the Museum of Zoology of the University of Athens, which was a source of some faunistic records recently published as a conference poster. Specimens have been re-identified, and their metadata have been digitalised, supplementing our knowledge of the species' distribution and correcting previous misidentifications. Tapinoma festae Emery, 1925, Tapinoma glabrella (Nylander, 1849) (Dolichoderinae), Plagiolepis perperamus Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018, Plagiolepis xene Stärcke, 1936 (Formicinae), Crematogaster lorteti Forel, 1910, and Tetramorium indocile Santschi, 1927 (Myrmicinae) are reported for the first time for the island. Adiitionally, a new distributional record is also provided for Camponotus cf. vitiosus, an enigmatic alien species on Cyprus. Lastly, a number of dubious records are removed from the checklist of Cypriot ants with notes on further taxa that could be removed in the future.

Only five species of the genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 have been reported from Cyprus, hitherto. Based on material surveys, the presence of 12 species is reported. Eight of them are described as new to science: T. akrotiriensis n. sp., T. apolloni n. sp., T. cerastarum n. sp., T. evagorae n. sp., T. hippomenesi n. sp., T. kykkos n. sp., T. nikoklesi n. sp., and T. oreades n. sp. In addition, T. cypridis (Santschi, 1930) n. stat. is raised to the species rank, while T. aeolius (Forel, 1911) and T. curtisetosus Salata & Borowiec, 2015 are reported from Cyprus for the first time. An identification key and color photos of all Cypriot species of Temnothorax are provided.

A review of the Ptinidae (Coleoptera: Bostrichoidea) fauna of Cyprus is presented. A new species, Gastrallus kayiasi sp. nov. is described and compared with other Mediterranean species of the genus Gastrallus Jacquelin du Val, 1860. In addition, 14 species are recorded in Cyprus for the first time, namely: Caenocara affine (Sturm, 1837), Ernobius lenkae Zahradník, 1998 (subfamily Ernobiinae); Dorcatoma (Pilosodorcatoma) chrysomelina Sturm, 1837, Sagetus sp. (subfamily Dorcatominae); Hedobia pubescens (Olivier, 1790) (subfamily Eucradinae); Mesocoelopus niger (P. W. J. Müller, 1821), Mesothes granulatus Pic, 1907 (subfamily Mesocoelopodinae); Ptinus (Bruchoptinus) syriacus Pic, 1896, Ptinus (Ptinus) hirsutus Pic, 1895 (subfamily Ptininae); Lasioderma obscurum (Solsky, 1868), Metholcus rotundicollis Schilsky, 1898, Xyletinus (Xyletinus) subrotundatus Lareynie, 1852, Xyletinus (Xyletinus) sveci Zahradník, 2016 and Xyletinus (Xyletinus) wewalkai Gottwald, 1977 (subfamily Xyletininae). The number of Ptinidae species currently known from Cyprus is raised to 77, distributed in 27 genera in all subfamilies except the Neotropical subfamily Alvarenganiellinae.

The comprehensive survey of the ant fauna conducted in Cyprus revealed that the island is inhabited by two species of the genus Cataglyphis Förster, 1850. Both species are endemic and are described as new to science. Cataglyphis chionistrae n. sp., a member of the C. cursor species complex, occurs only in the high montane pine forest of Mt. Chionistra (= Mt. Olympos). While C. aphrodite n. sp., a member of the C. nodus species complex, is common at low and mid altitudes in open habitats or luminous pine forests. This work also provides the key to Cataglyphis from Cyprus and the very first synopsis lists of all the members of the cursor and nodus species complexes known from the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Gall-forming aphid species Tetraneura nigriabdominalis and T. fusiformis and its closely related species are taxonomically revised. By referring to the original descriptions, the name T. nigriabdominalis (Sasaki, 1899) is discarded as an erroneous combination, and T. akinire Sasaki, 1904 is adopted as a valid name. The T. akinire species group is defined as having long claws in the first instar nymphs of the root generation. Of the T. akinire species group distributed in Korea and Japan, T. ovaliformis sp. nov., which induces globular galls on the leaves of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, is described, and T. akinire and T. sorini Hille Ris Lambers, 1970 are redescribed. A molecular phylogeny based on partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) indicates that T. akinire is composed of two clusters, one (type A) which is distributed widely from Europe to East Asia on Ulmus spp., and the other (type B) which is found in Hokkaido, northern Japan on U. davidiana var. japonica and in tropical regions as anholocyclic lineages. Tetraneura fusiformis Matsumura, 1917, which has often been treated as a junior synonym of T. nigriabdominalis, likely corresponds to type B. The taxonomic status of T. fusiformis is discussed and this species is tentatively considered as a junior synonym of T. akinire sensu novo.

A new monotypic genus of freshwater snail from late Holocene spring deposits in Viesca, Coahuila (Mexico), is described based on shell morphology. Spinopyrgus luismaedai n. gen. et n. sp. has two to three carinate shells with long and wide shovel-shaped spines, strong axial ridges and a pointed protoconch. All sculptural ornamentations on the teleoconch are part of the calcareous shell material and not projections of the periostracum. This combination of shell features and their almost marine-like appearance is unknown among North American recent and fossil freshwater snails. Because of its shell characteristics, we placed the new genus tentatively in the Cochliopidae. The springs of Viesca dried up in the second half of the 20th century so that any living occurrence of this species in neighboring areas is unlikely, rendering the new genus and species possibly extinct.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a major threat to biodiversity and have contributed to population declines in native species worldwide (Vilà et al. 2011; Gurevitch Padilla 2004). IUCN's Invasive Species Specialist Group lists some 80 invasive or potentially invasive species in Sri Lanka, which is part of a global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000; Marambe et al. 2011). The major release of aquatic IAS on the island are routed through the ornamental-fish industry (Marambe et al. 2011; Sudasinghe 2016), though a minority represents deliberate, if unplanned, introductions by governmental and non-governmental agencies (Marambe et al. 2011).

The taxonomic status of the large snakeheads of the Channa marulius group that occur in Sri Lanka is reviewed and clarified. Two species are recognized from the island, based on both morphological and molecular (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1: cox1) differentiation: C. marulius Hamilton from the northern dry zone and C. ara Deraniyagala from the middle and lower regions of the Mahaweli basin. Channa ara is endemic to Sri Lanka and can be distinguished from its Marulius group congeners, C. marulius, C. aurolineata and C. auroflammea, by having fewer dorsal- and anal-fin rays, fewer lateral-line scales and fewer vertebrae; from C. marulioides by a different adult colour pattern; and from C. pseudomarulius by having more vertebrae. At the cox1 barcoding locus, Channa ara is at least 3.6% genetically different from C. marulius, and at least 8% different from the other described species in the group. Specimens collected from the southwestern wet zone in Sri Lanka are a puzzling third component of the Marulius group's diversity, uncovered in this study, and identified here as C. cf. ara. Whilst genetically more similar to C. marulius, C. cf. ara possesses fewer dorsal- and anal-fin rays, fewer lateral-line scales and fewer vertebrae and is therefore morphologically more similar to C. ara. Channa ara can be distinguished from C. cf. ara, however, by differences in circumpeduncular scale count, adult colour pattern, and by an uncorrected pairwise genetic distance of 3.7% in cox1 sequences. A neotype is designated for Ophicephalus marulius ara Deraniyagala.

We address several problems arising from 'A review of the genus Devario in Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), with description of two new species', a paper authored by S. Batuwita, M. de Silva and S. Udugampola and published in 2017 in the journal FishTaxa (2(3): 156-179). The neotypes they designate for Perilampus malabaricus Jerdon and Perilampus mysoricus Jerdon are inconsistent with article 75.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ('the Code') and are hence invalid. Devario udenii, which they describe as a new species, is shown to be indistinguishable from D. micronema sensu Batuwita et al. The characters by which they distinguish another new species, D. annnataliae, are shown to be self-contradictory, making it impossible to distinguish from its congeners; it is treated as a species inquirendum. The diagnoses provided for D. malabaricus, D. micronema and D. monticola are ambiguous and self-contradictory, rendering them unusable. Much of the material examined, stated to be in the collection of the National Museum of Sri Lanka, is not deposited in that institution: such material as is deposited is inconsistent with the specimen data published by Batuwita et al.

The taxonomy of the three native taxa assigned to the genus Labeo (L. dussumieri, L. fisheri and L. porcellus lankae) in Sri Lanka is reviewed. The population hitherto identified as L. dussumieri in Sri Lanka is shown to be a distinct species, here named L. heladiva. Labeo heladiva, new species, has a wide distribution in the low and mid-elevations of the island and is distinguished from its Indian congeners by the combination of having two pairs of barbels; 12-13 branched dorsal-fin rays; lateral line with 44-51 scales; ½8-½9+1+6-7 scales in transverse series; and 19-22 circumpeduncular scales. It differs from its closest relative, L. dussumieri, principally by having 44-51 vs. 50-60 lateral-line scales, 19-22 vs. 22-27 circumpeduncular scales, and by uncorrected pairwise genetic distances of 1.27-2.22% and 1.88-2.91% for the two mitochondrial genes COI and cytb, respectively. Labeo fisheri, which is endemic to the upper reaches of the Mahaweli River basin in the Knuckles mountain range and the central hills in the vicinity of Kandy, is distinguished from Indian congeners by having (in combination) only a single pair of barbels; dorsal fin with 10-12 branched rays; lateral line with 37-39 scales; 7+1+4½-6 scales in transverse series; and 17-20 circumpeduncular scales. Labeo lankae is recognized as a valid species endemic to Sri Lanka. Long suspected to have become extinct, or known only from spurious records, an extant population is reported from the northern dry zone of the island. Labeo lankae is the sister species of L. porcellus of peninsular India; it can be distinguished from its congeners by having, in combination, 10-12 branched dorsal-fin rays; 36-39 lateral-line scales; ½8+1+5-6½ scales in transverse series; and 21-24 circumpeduncular scales. It differs from L. porcellus principally by having ½8 (vs. ½6-½7) scales between the origin of the dorsal fin and the lateral line, 21-24 (vs. 20-21) circumpeduncular scales and uncorrected pairwise genetic distances of 1.27% and 1.41% for the mitochondrial genes COI and cytb, respectively. The three species of Labeo in Sri Lanka do not form a monophyletic group.

Schistura scripta, new species, is described from Nakiyadeniya in the south-western lowlands of Sri Lanka. It can be distinguished from all other congeners from Sri Lankan and peninsular India by the combination of the following characters: an incomplete lateral line with 53-76 pores, ending beneath the dorsal-fin base or slightly beyond; 7-13 post-dorsal bars; 7½ branched dorsal-fin rays; absence of an axillary pelvic lobe; and absence of a suborbital flap.

Four new species of Sympycnus Loew, 1857, S. ferganicus sp. nov., S. leleji sp. nov., S. stackelbergi sp. nov. and S. yakutensis sp. nov. from Russia (Yakutia), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are described. Sympycnus convergens Negrobov, 1973 and S. urgaicus Negrobov, 1973 are placed in synonymy with S. changaicus Negrobov (syn. nov.). Lectotype and paralectotypes are designated for Sympycnus simplicipes Becker, 1908. A checklist of the East Palaearctic species of the genus is compiled and a key to males of the 14 species is provided. Five species groups are defined. New data on the distribution of known species are presented. The known distribution of East Palaearctic Sympycnus species is briefly discussed.

The bufonid genus Adenomus, an endemic of the montane and lowland rainforests of central and south-western Sri Lanka, has been considered to comprise of three species, viz. A. kelaartii, A. dasi and A. kandianus, the last of which has been recently highlighted as "the world's rarest toad". We conducted a survey across the known range of Adenomus and used multiple criteria to delineate species boundaries within the genus. These include: a molecular phylogeny based on a 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragment; an examination of the external morphology of adults and larvae, and the skeletal morphology of adults; a bioacoustic analysis; and ecological niche modelling. We show that Adenomus is monophyletic and that it comprises only two species: A. kelaartii and A. kandianus, with A. dasi being a junior synonym of the latter. For the two valid species of Adenomus, we provide detailed osteological descriptions; clarify the distribution patterns; and provide genetic data to facilitate their scientific conservation management.

Two new species from the southern tundra of the Taimyr Peninsula (Russia) are described. Chrysotus tricaudatus Negrobov, Barkalov & Selivanova sp. nov. is similar to C. albibarbus Loew, but can be distinguished by its brown palpus with black setae, yellow hind tibia and base of hind tarsus, and features of the male genitalia. Chrysotus komovi Negrobov, Barkalov & Selivanova sp. nov. is similar to C. obscuripes Zetterstedt, but can be distinguished by features of the male genitalia. A key to all Siberian species of the genus is also presented along with figures of diagnostic morphological characters.

The type series of Pristimantis guaiquinimensis (Schlüter & Rödder, 2007), P. tepuiensis (Schlüter & Rödder, 2007) and P. stegolepis (Schlüter & Rödder, 2007) have been thoroughly examined. We highlight a number of discrepancies in the original descriptions that do not support the recognition of P. stegolepis and P. tepuiensis as valid species. We demonstrate that P. stegolepis should be considered ajunior synonym of P. vilarsi (Melin, 1941), and that P. tepuiensis should be considered a junior synonym of P. guaiquinimensis. We also point out that the sex of the holotype and paratype of P. guaiquinimensis have been wrongly determined.