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Intentionally preserved biological material in natural history collections represents a vast repository of biodiversity. Advances in laboratory and sequencing technologies have made these specimens increasingly accessible for genomic analyses, offering a window into the genetic past of species and often permitting access to information that can no longer be sampled in the wild. Due to their age, preparation and storage conditions, DNA retrieved from museum and herbarium specimens is often poor in yield, heavily fragmented and biochemically modified. This not only poses methodological challenges in recovering nucleotide sequences, but also makes such investigations susceptible to environmental and laboratory contamination. In this paper, we review the practical challenges associated with making the recovery of DNA sequence data from museum collections more routine. We first review key operational principles and issues to address, to guide the decision-making process and dialogue between researchers and curators about when and how to sample museum specimens for genomic analyses. We then outline the range of steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of contamination including laboratory set-ups, workflows and working practices. We finish by presenting a series of case studies, each focusing on protocol practicalities for the application of different mainstream methodologies to museum specimens including: (i) shotgun sequencing of insect mitogenomes, (ii) whole genome sequencing of insects, (iii) genome skimming to recover plant plastid genomes from herbarium specimens, (iv) target capture of multi-locus nuclear sequences from herbarium specimens, (v) RAD-sequencing of bird specimens and (vi) shotgun sequencing of ancient bovid bone samples., Competing Interests: No conflict of interest to declare Disclaimer: This article is (co-)authored by any of the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editors or their deputies in this journal., (Giada Ferrari, Lore Esselens, Michelle L Hart, Steven Janssens, Catherine Kidner, Maurizio Mascarello, Joshua V Peñalba, Flávia Pezzini, Thomas von Rintelen, Gontran Sonet, Carl Vangestel, Massimiliano Virgilio, Peter M Hollingsworth.)

Louisea Cumberlidge, 1994 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Potamonautidae) currently includes four endemic Cameroonian freshwater crab species whose phylogenetic relationships were previously unresolved. In the present study, phylogenetic analyses are carried out involving three mtDNA loci (COI, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA). The COI locus revealed divergence times of 5.6 million years ago (myr) for when L.balssi (Bott, 1959) diverged from L.edeaensis (Bott, 1969); 4.1 myr for when L.edeaensis diverged from L.yabassi Mvogo Ndongo, von Rintelen & Cumberlidge, 2019; and 2.48 myr for when the later species diverged from L.nkongsamba Mvogo Ndongo, von Rintelen & Cumberlidge, 2019. Three genetic lineages were found within L.nkongsamba that are supported by uncorrected p -distances and the haplotype network. Morphological variation in some taxonomically important characters was found within both L.nkongsamba and L.yabassi . No correlation, however, was found between the morphotypes within these species and the uncovered genetic lineages. Recognition of species boundaries and of subpopulations of species will prove valuable when making informed conservation decisions as part of the development of species action plans for these rare and threatened freshwater crabs.

VIETBIO [Innovative approaches to biodiversity discovery and characterisation in Vietnam] is a bilateral German-Vietnamese research and capacity building project focusing on the development and transfer of new methods and technology towards an integrated biodiversity discovery and monitoring system for Vietnam. Dedicated field training and testing of innovative methodologies were undertaken in Cuc Phuong National Park as part and with support of the project, which led to the new biodiversity data and records made available in this article collection. VIETBIO is a collaboration between the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science (MfN), the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin (BGBM) and the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (VNMN), the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR), the Southern Institute of Ecology (SIE), as well as the Institute of Tropical Biology (ITB); all Vietnamese institutions belong to the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). The article collection "VIETBIO" (https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.coll.63) reports original results of recent biodiversity recording and survey work undertaken in Cuc Phuong National Park, northern Vietnam, under the framework of the VIETBIO project. The collection consist of this "main" cover paper - characterising the study area, the general project approaches and activities, while also giving an extensive overview on previous studies from this area - followed by individual papers for higher taxa as studied during the project. The main purpose is to make primary biodiversity records openly available, including several new and interesting findings for this biodiversity-rich conservation area. All individual data papers with their respective primary records are expected to provide useful baselines for further taxonomic, phylogenetic, ecological and conservation-related studies on the respective taxa and, thus, will be maintained as separate datasets, including separate GUIDs also for further updating., (Virginia K. Duwe, Lien Van Vu, Thomas von Rintelen, Eckhard von Raab-Straube, Stefan Schmidt, Sinh Van Nguyen, Thong Dinh Vu, Tu Van Do, Truong Hong Luu, Vuong Ba Truong, Vanessa Di Vincenzo, Olga Schmidt, Falko Glöckler, Regine Jahn, Robert Lücking, Katharina C. M. von Oheimb, Parm Viktor von Oheimb, Sandra Heinze, Nelida Abarca, Sarah Bollendorff, Thomas Borsch, Eliana Buenaventura, Huong Thi Thu Dang, Thuy Dieu Dinh, Hai Thi Do, Sarah Ehlers, Jörg Freyhof, Sofía Hayden, Peter Hein, Tuan Anh Hoang, Duc Minh Hoang, Son Nghia Hoang, Harald Kürschner, Wolf-Henning Kusber, Han Ngoc Le, Trang Quynh Le, Mattes Linde, Wolfram Mey, Hiep Duc Nguyen, Man Thi Nguyen, Minh Trung Nguyen, Dat Van Nguyen, Tu Van Nguyen, Vu Dang Hoang Nguyen, Dat Quoc Nguyen, Michael Ohl, Gerald Parolly, Tan Nhat Pham, Phu Van Pham, Katharina Rabe, Bernhard Schurian, Oliver Skibbe, Anna Sulikowska-Drozd, Quang Van To, Tam Quang Truong, Jonas Zimmermann, Christoph L. Häuser.)

Background: Freshwater shrimp of the family Atyidae De Haan, 1849 have been studied in Vietnam for more than a century. A total of 24 species of atyid shrimps from the genera Caridina H. Milne Edwards, 1837, Neocaridina Kubo, 1938, Atyopsis Chace, 1983 have been recorded from Vietnam. With 22 species, the majority are from the genus Caridina . In 2013, Karge and Klotz mentioned the occurrence of four yet undescribed species belonging to Paracaridina Liang, Guo & Tang, 1999 in Vietnam without taxonomic details.In general, studies of freshwater atyids in Vietnam are limited and most Vietnamese taxa await a taxonomic revision. The available data do not fully reflect their estimated species diversity in the country and distribution data are deficient. Here, we focus on four species of atyid shrimps from two genera, viz. Caridinacantonensis Yu, 1938, C.lanceifrons Yu, 1936, C.serrata Stimpson, 1860 and Neocaridinapalmata (Shen, 1948), all described from China and have been reported to occur in Vietnam. The previous reports on the occurrence of these species in Vietnam are largely unreliable due to taxonomic confusion. To contribute to the knowledge of these taxa, we provide the first verified distribution records of the four species in the country with some taxonomic remarks., New Information: This study shows the first taxonomically-verified distribution data of four atyid shrimp species originally described from China, but also reported from Vietnam, albeit under various species names and, in some cases, erroneously. These data allow the first meaningful discussion of the distribution in light of the reproductive strategy of these four species and, in conjunction with the taxonomic remarks, will contribute to the knowledge of these taxa. As a result of this research and data from previous studies, we now consider all four species as widespread and non-endemic, but land-locked (with a complete freshwater life cycle). In Vietnam, all four species are confined to the northern half of the country. Beyond Vietnam, we provide the first records for Caridinalanceifrons from southern Thailand, which suggests a major sampling gap in Indochina., (Do Van Tu, Kristina von Rintelen, Werner Klotz, Le Hung Anh, Tran Anh Tuan, Dang Van Dong, Phan Thi Yen, Nguyen Tong Cuong, Hoang Ngoc Khac, Phan Doan Dang, Thomas von Rintelen.)

A new species of freshwater crab of the genus Potamonemus Cumberlidge & Clark, 1992 is described from Mount Manengouba Reserve and Bakossi National Park in the tropical rainforests of southwestern Cameroon, Central Africa. Potamonemus man sp. nov. is recognized by characters of the carapace and chelipeds. In addition, a phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of three mitochondrial DNA genes (COI, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) that included representatives of all other freshwater crab genera found in Cameroon recovered each of the new species as a distinct lineage. A diagnosis and illustrations of the new species are provided, and it is compared to the other species of Potamonemus . Brief notes are provided on the ecology of the new species and the two other species of Potamonemus . An identification key to the species of Potamonemus is provided. The conservation status of the genus is discussed.

Lake Poso, an ancient lake system on the Indonesian island Sulawesi, harbours an endemic species flock of six, four lacustrine and two riverine species of the freshwater shrimp genus Caridina . In this study, five new lacustrine species are described, bringing the total to eleven species altogether. The number of lacustrine species is more than doubled to nine species compared to the last taxonomic revision in 2009. One of them, Caridina mayamareenae Klotz, Wowor & von Rintelen, sp. nov ., even represents the first case of an atyid shrimp associated with freshwater snails which is morphologically adapted to living in shells. An integrative approach was used by providing a combination of morphological, ecological, and molecular data. Based on standard morphological characters, distribution, substrate preferences, and colouration of living specimens in the field, five distinct undescribed species could be distinguished. To support our species-hypothesis based on the mitochondrial genes 16S and COI, a molecular phylogeny was used for all eleven species from Lake Poso. All species form a well-supported monophyletic group, but only four morphospecies consistently correspond to mtDNA clades - a possible reason could be introgressive hybridisation, incomplete lineage sorting, or not yet fixed species boundaries. These results are discussed further in the context of adaptive radiation, which turned out to be more diverse than previously described. Finally, yet importantly, subjecting all new species to similar threats and to the same IUCN category and criterion than the previously described species from the lake is recommended., (Werner Klotz, Thomas von Rintelen, Daisy Wowor, Christian Lukhaup, Kristina von Rintelen.)

To contribute to the taxonomic knowledge of barnacles in this understudied area, the first checklist of barnacles from the Moluccas is presented, including additional information on morphology, distribution, and substrate as well as molecular data. The species of barnacles from the Moluccas have been determined using morphological analysis and DNA sequences. During 19 field trips conducted between January 2016 and September 2017, 1,513 specimens of 24 species of intertidal and one species of deep-sea barnacles were collected from 51 localities from the islands. Morphological and molecular analysis of the collected material detected members of three families of stalked barnacles and four families of acorn barnacles. In addition to sampling in the field, we also surveyed the literature on barnacles from the Moluccas. In total, our checklist comprises 97 species from the Moluccas including 23 new records, two of them yet to be described species. Results suggest that the Moluccas have a much higher diversity of barnacles than previously known, for example, from the reports of Challenger and Siboga expeditions. For further work, routine application of molecular systematics could aid the detection of cryptic species, while increased sampling of more islands and a taxonomic revision of several groups would likely lead to an even higher number of species than currently known., (Pipit Pitriana, Luis Valente, Thomas von Rintelen, Diana S. Jones, Romanus E. Prabowo, Kristina von Rintelen.)

The taxonomy of the freshwater crab genus Louisea Cumberlidge, 1994, is reviewed based on type material and newly obtained specimens from three different localities in southwestern Cameroon. The genus is endemic to Cameroon and previously included two species: L. edeaensis (Bott, 1969) (type species) from Lake Ossa wetland complex (altitudes below 400 m asl) and L. balssi (Bott, 1959) from Kumba and Mt. Manengouba (altitudes above 1300 m asl). Here two new species of Louisea are described based on morphological and/or genetic data: L. nkongsamba sp. nov. from the Nlonako Ecological Reserve (1000-1400 m asl) in the sub-montane zone and L. yabassi sp. nov . from Yabassi in the lowlands. A redescription and amended diagnostic features of L. edeaensis and L. balssi are provided, and the genus diagnosis is updated to accommodate all four species. An identification key is also provided for the species of Louisea . A tree of phylogenetic relationships based on three mtDNA loci (COI, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) supports the taxonomic revision, and indicates speciation of Louisea species along an altitudinal gradient, but further phylogenetic analyses are needed to understand whether this can lend support to the hypothesis that there is a montane centre of speciation along the Cameroon Volcanic Line. The phylogenetic tree also shows that Buea Cumberlidge, Mvogo Ndongo, Clark & Daniels, 2019 and Potamonemus Cumberlidge & Clark, 1992 are sister genera that may be derived from the Louisea lineage.

We present the results of a DNA barcoding pipeline that was established as part of the German-Indonesian IndobioSys project - Indonesian Biodiversity Information System. Our data release provides the first large-scale diversity assessment of Indonesian coleoptera obtained by canopy fogging. The project combined extensive fieldwork with databasing, DNA barcode based species delineation and the release of results in collaboration with Indonesian counterparts, aimed at supporting further analyses of the data. Canopy fogging on 28 trees was undertaken at two different sites, Cikaniki and Gunung Botol, in the south-eastern area of the Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park in West Java, Indonesia. In total, 7,447 specimens of Coleoptera were processed, of which 3,836 specimens produced DNA barcode sequences that were longer than 300 bp. A total of 3,750 specimens were assigned a Barcode Index Number (BIN), including 2,013 specimens from Cikaniki and 1,737 specimens from Gunung Botol. The 747 BINs, that were obtained, represented 39 families of Coleoptera. The distribution of specimens with BINs per tree was quite heterogeneous in both sites even in terms of the abundance of specimens or diversity of BINs. The specimen distribution per taxon was heterogeneous as well. Some 416 specimens could not be identified to family level, corresponding to 72 BINs that lack a family level identification. The data have shown a large heterogeneity in terms of abundance and distribution of BINs between sites, trees and families of Coleoptera. From the total of 747 BINs that were recovered, 421 (56%) are exclusive from a single tree. Although the two study sites were in close proximity and separated by a distance of only about five kilometres, the number of shared BINs between sites is low, with 81 of the 747 BINs. With this data release, we expect to shed some light on the largely hidden diversity in the canopy of tropical forests in Indonesia and elsewhere.

The Indonesian archipelago features an extraordinarily rich biota. However, the actual taxonomic inventory of the archipelago remains highly incomplete and there is hardly any significant taxonomic activity that utilises recent technological advances. The IndoBioSys project was established as a biodiversity information system aiming at, amongst other goals, creating inventories of the Indonesian entomofauna using DNA barcoding. Here, we release the first large scale assessment of the megadiverse insect groups that occur in the Mount Halimun-Salak National Park, one of the largest tropical rain-forest ecosystem in West Java, with a focus on Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera collected with Malaise traps. From September 2015 until April 2016, 34 Malaise traps were placed in different localities in the south-eastern part of the Halimun-Salak National Park. A total of 4,531 specimens were processed for DNA barcoding and in total, 2,382 individuals produced barcode compliant records, representing 1,195 exclusive BINs or putative species in 98 insect families. A total of 1,149 BINs were new to BOLD. Of 1,195 BINs detected, 804 BINs were singletons and more than 90% of the BINs incorporated less than five specimens. The astonishing heterogeneity of BINs, as high as 1.1 exclusive BIN per specimen of Diptera successfully processed, shows that the cost/benefit relationship of the discovery of new species in those areas is very low. In four genera of Chalcidoidea, a superfamily of the Hymenoptera, the number of discovered species was higher than the number of species known from Indonesia, suggesting that our samples contain many species that are new to science. Those numbers shows how fast molecular pipelines contribute substantially to the objective inventorying of the fauna giving us a good picture of how potentially diverse tropical areas might be.

Two new species of the genus Cherax are described and illustrated. Cherax mosessalossa sp. n. , endemic to the Klademak Creek drainage in Sorong, in the western part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with its closest relatives, Cherax misolicus Holthuis, 1949 and Cherax warsamsonicus . The new species may be easily distinguished from both by the shape of the rostrum, the shape of the chelae, the presence of five cervical spines, the shape of the scaphocerite, and short scattered hairs on the carapace. Cherax alyciae sp. n. , endemic to creeks in the Digul River drainage in the eastern part of the Boven Digoel Regency, Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured, and compared with its closest relative, Cherax peknyi Lukhaup & Herbert, 2008. The new species may be easily distinguished from Cherax peknyi by the shape of the chelae, presence of a soft patch on the chelae of the males, and colouration. A molecular phylogeny based on two mitochondrial gene fragments, 16S and COI, supports the morphology-based description of the two new species, which can also be clearly distinguished by sequence differences.

Background: Taxonomy and biogeography can benefit from citizen scientists. The use of social networking and open access cooperative publishing can easily connect naturalists even in more remote areas with in-country scientists and institutions, as well as those abroad. This enables taxonomic efforts without frontiers and at the same time adequate benefit sharing measures., New Information: We present new distribution and habitat data for diving beetles of Bali island, Indonesia, as a proof of concept. The species Hydaticus luczonicus Aubé, 1838 and Eretes griseus (Fabricius, 1781) are reported from Bali for the first time. The total number of Dytiscidae species known from Bali is now 34.

A new species, Cherax warsamsonicus sp. n. , endemic to the Warsamson River drainage, in the western part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with its closely related species, Cherax misolicus Holthuis, 1949. The new species may be easily distinguished from C. misolicus by the shape of the rostrum, absence of setae on the rostrum, the shape of the chelae, the presence of 3-4 cervical spines and by using sequence divergence, which is substantial for considering C. warsamsonicus sp. n. to be a new species. The new species is collected and exported for ornamental purposes and its commercial name in the pet trade is Cherax "irian jaya", Cherax "pink coral", or Cherax "hoa creek". Due to similar colouration it is often confused with the recently described Cherax pulcher Lukhaup, 2015.

In this study, the genetic diversity of Iranian populations of two widespread Stenus species representing two ecomorphological forms, the "open living species" Stenus erythrocnemus Eppelsheim, 1884 and the "stratobiont" Stenus callidus Baudi di Selve, 1848, is presented using data from a fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene. We evaluate the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I haplotypes and the intraspecific genetic distance of these two species. Our results reveal a very low diversity of COI sequences in Stenus erythrocnemus in contrast to Stenus callidus . Moreover, the COI based phylogeny of a selection of Iranian Stenus support the monophyly of some species groups of Stenus proposed by Puthz (2008) and contradicts the traditional infrageneric classification.