A new species of the genus Paulianidia Jarrige and a new combination in Pseudolathra Casey (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae).

The genus Paulianidia (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae) was described by Jarrige, 1978 and thus far, it consists of 24 species. It is endemic to Madagascar and has been sampled in the leaf litter layer of soil in mountainous regions with little sign of degradation. Here, we describe a new species in the genus, Paulianidia parahammondi sp. nov., and compare it with its supposedly closest relative. We provide an updated key to all Paulianidia species and an updated genus description. We also discuss the systematic position of Paulianidia, and provide characters for distinguishing it from other Paederinae of Madagascar. Additionally, the Paederinae species Lathrobium catenulatum Fauvel, 1905 is transferred here to Pseudolathra Casey, 1905 as P. catenulata (Fauvel, 1905) comb. nov.

Genomic epidemiology of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants during first two years of the pandemic in Colombia

The emergence of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants has led to surges in cases and the need for global genomic surveillance. While some variants rapidly spread worldwide, other variants only persist nationally. There is a need for more fine-scale analysis to understand transmission dynamics at a country scale. For instance, the Mu variant of interest, also known as lineage B.1.621, was first detected in Colombia and was responsible for a large local wave but only a few sporadic cases elsewhere. To provide a better understanding of the epidemiology of SARS-Cov-2 variants in Colombia, we used 14,049 complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes from the 32 states of Colombia, and performed Bayesian phylodynamic analyses to estimate the time of variants introduction, their respective effective reproductive number, and effective population size, and the impact of disease control measures. We detected a total of 188 SARS-CoV-2 Pango lineages circulating in Colombia since the start of the pandemic. We showed that the effective reproduction number oscillated drastically throughout the first two years of the pandemic, with Mu showing the highest transmissibility (Re and growth rate estimation). Our results reinforce that genomic surveillance programs are essential for countries to make evidence-driven interventions towards the emergence and circulation of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants.