Redescription of the fish parasite Nerocila japonica Schioedte & Meinert, 1881 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae), with comments on previous records of N. acuminata in Japanese waters

Nerocila japonica Schioedte & Meinert, 1881 is redescribed based on the holotype and specimens from various localities in Japanese waters. The following fishes are recorded as new hosts: Tribolodon hakonensis (Cyprinidae), Mugil cephalus, Liza affinis, Chelon haematocheilus (Mugilidae), Lateolabrax japonicus, L. latus (Lateolabracidae), Acanthopagrus latus, A. schlegelii schlegelii (Sparidae), Rhyncopelates oxyrhynchus (Terapontidae), Ditrema viride, D. temminckii temminckii (Embiotocidae), Chaenogobius gulosus, Acanthogobius flavimanus (Gobiidae), Pseudolabrus sp. (Labridae) and Aluterus monoceros (Monacanthidae). Specimens previously recorded as ‘Nerocila acuminata’ from Toyama Bay (the Sea of Japan) were examined, when available, and re-identified as N. japonica. As there has been no reliable record of N. acuminata Schioedte & Meinert, 1881 from off Japan, reports of this species in Japanese waters are considered to represent N. japonica.     

Current status of the Drosophila melanogaster species-group (Diptera)

Abstract. The Drosphila melanogaster species-group, established by Sturtevant (1942) for fourteen species, is now known to contain 115 described species here divided into twelve named subgroups (including one newly proposed), as well as further undescribed species. Three of the species, melanogaster, simulans and ananassae , are cosmopolitan; two others, kikkawai and malerkotliana , are widespread in the southern hemisphere, the latter apparently a recent introduction to South America. The greatest numbers of species otherwise occur in the Oriental region with smaller numbers in the Ethiopian, eastern Palaearctic and Australian regions and in several islands of the South Pacific. D.rajasekari and D.raychaudhurii are synonymized with D.biamipes;also D.andamanensis Parshad & Singh is synonymized with D.andamanensis Gupta & Raychaudhuri.     

Reassessment of the isopod crustacean Aega deshaysiana (Milne Edwards, 1840) (Cymothoida: Aegidae): a world-wide complex of 21 species

Aega deshaysiana (Milne Edwards, 1840) and A. antillensis Schioedte & Meinert, 1879, have long been confounded, with all records eventually becoming regarded as belonging to one globally distributed species, namely A. deshaysiana. These two species are redescribed and differentiated, with A. schioedteana Bovallius, 1885 remaining in synonymy with A. deshaysiana. Aega deshaysiana occurs only in the eastern North Atlantic and Mediterranean, while A. antillensis is known only from the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. A further two named species are redescribed: A. excisa Richardson, 1910, previously placed in synonymy with A. deshaysiana, and A. magnifica (Dana, 1852). A neotype is designated for A. magnifica. This ‘complex’ or group of Aega species is distinguished from the others by their large eyes, which are usually medially united and occupy most of the head, their large adult size (20–60 mm), a posteriorly acute and defined pleotelson apex, and the uropod rami not extending posteriorly beyond the pleotelson, with exopod held at an oblique angle to the endopod and deeply notched endopod lateral margin. The group is not necessarily monophyletic, as there is a gradation in the depth of the uropod notch from deep to scarcely evident, and in eye size from entirely occupying the head to just separate (though the eyes are always large). Twelve new species in the group are described. All species are considered to be micropredators of fishes and elasmobranches, although prey records are few and unreliable owing to the readiness of these isopods to detach. Species of the group have been recorded from depths varying between 10 m and 600 m and occasionally deeper. Several have extensive distributions ranging from the Southern Ocean to tropical waters. The group is represented in all oceans. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 142 , 135–232.     

Revision of the genus Australimyza Harrison (Diptera: Australimyzidae)

Abstract.  The species of Australimyza Harrison are revised and the saprophagous larvae are described for the first time. The phylogenetic analysis revealed two species groups and one ungrouped species. One species group is distributed in New Zealand and associated subantarctic islands; all other species occur in Australia. Four new species, A. glandulifera , A. kaikoura , A. mcalpinei and A. victoria , are described, A. anisotomae is synonymized with A. australensis and a neotype is designated for the latter species. A lectotype is designated for A. macquariensis .     

Two new species of nudibranchiate molluscs from the west coast of North America, with a revision of the family Cuthonidae

Two species of nudibranch molluscs are described from the northeastern Pacific Ocean on the west coast of North America. These are: a new aeolid species of Cuthona Alder & Hancock, 1855 (family Cuthonidae) from the Oregonian marine zoogeographical province and a new dorid species of Acanthodoris Gray, 1850 (family Onchidorididae) from the Panamic province in the Gulf of California. The internal anatomy and external features of each species are compared with related species. Differences in structure of the radula, reproductive system and other morphological aspects are described. A revision of the family Cuthonidae is included. Evidence is presented to include the genera Trinchesia Ihering, 1879, and Precuthona Odhner, 1929, within the genus Cuthona. Cuthona alpha Baba & Hamatani, 1963, is synonymized with Catriona columbiana (O'Donoghue, 1922). We consider the New World Cuthonidae to be composed of the following five genera: Catriona Winckworth, 1941; Cuthona Alder & Hancock, 1855; Embletonia Alder & Hancock, 1851; Tenellia Costa, 1877; and Tergipes Cuvier, 1805.     

A biogeographic analysis and review of the far eastern Pacific coral reef region

New information on the presence and relative abundances of 41 reef-building (zooxanthellate) coral species at 11 eastern Pacific and 3 central Pacific localities is examined in a biogeographic analysis and review of the eastern Pacific coral reef region. The composition and origin of the coral fauna and other reef-associated taxa are assessed in the context of dispersal and vicariance hypotheses. A minimum variance cluster analysis using coral species presence–absence classification data at the 14 localities revealed three eastern Pacific reef-coral provinces: (1) equatorial– mainland Ecuador to Costa Rica, including the Galápagos and Cocos Islands; (2) northern– mainland México and the Revillagigedo Islands; (3) island group– eastern Pacific Malpelo Island and Clipperton Atoll, and central Pacific Hawaiian, Johnston and Fanning Islands. Coral species richness is relatively high in the equatorial (17–26 species per locality) and northern (18–24 species) provinces, and low at two small offshore island localities (7–10 species). A high proportion (36.6%, 15 species) of eastern Pacific coral species occurs at only one or two localities; of these, three disappeared following the 1982–83 ENSO event, three occur as death assemblages at several localities, and five are endangered with known populations of ten or fewer colonies. Principal component analysis using ordinal relative density data for the 41 species at the 14 localities indicated three main species groupings, i.e., those with high, mid, and narrow spatial distributions. These groupings correlated with species population-dynamic characteristics. These results were compared with data for riverine discharges, ocean circulation patterns, shoreline habitat characteristics, and regional sea surface temperature data to help clarify the analyses as these measures of environmental variability affect coral community composition. Local richness was highest at localities with the highest environmental variability. Recent information regarding the strong affinity between eastern and central Pacific coral faunas, abundance of teleplanic larvae in oceanic currents, high genetic similarity of numerous reef-associated species, and appearances of numerous Indo-west Pacific species in the east Pacific following ENSO activity, suggest the bridging of the east Pacific filter bridge (formerly east Pacific barrier). Accepted: 20 September 1999     

Review of the fish parasitic genus Ceratothoa Dana, 1852 (Crustacea,Isopoda, Cymothoidae) from South Africa,including the description of two new species

The genus Ceratothoa Dana, 1852 is revised for South African waters and re-diagnosed. Ceratothoa retusa (Schioedte & Meinert, 1883) is recorded from the eastern coast, and Ceratothoa africanae sp. n. and C. famosa sp. n. are described; C. imbricata (Fabricius, 1775) and C. trigonocephala (Leach, 1818), are redescribed, revised and excluded from the South African fauna. Ceratothoa africanae sp. n. can be distinguished by the stout body shape of the female; triangular cephalon with a pointed rostrum; short uropods which do not extend past the pleotelson; large carinae on the pereopod basis; a broad pleon; and large medial lobes on female pleopods. Ceratothoa famosa sp. n. is characterised by the long rectangular body shape; pereonite 1 with a raised medial protrusion; narrow antenna with antennule article 1 expanded; uropods which reach the posterior margin of the pleotelson; narrow rami on uropods; and no appendix masculina on pleopod 2 of the male specimens.     

Systematics of sculpins of the genus Radulinopsis (Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae), with the description of a new species from northern Japan and the Russian Far East

The cottid genus Radulinopsis Soldatov and Lindberg is recognized as a valid taxon including two species, R. derjavini Soldatov and Lindberg and R. taranetzi sp. nov., both distributed in shallow waters around Hokkaido, Japan, and the Russian Far East. Radulinopsis taranetzi differs from R. derjavini in having an almost naked body, teeth on the prevomer, and higher meristic counts. Radulinopsis derjugini Soldatov is synonymized with R. derjavini. A key to species of Radulinopsis and related genera is given. Based on a cladistic analysis of 18 morphological characters, Radulinopsis is the sister group of the Japanese genus Astrocottus, and the monophyletic eastern North Pacific group comprising Radulinus plus Asemichthys is the sister group of the western North Pacific group of Radulinopsis plus Astrocottus. Triglops, having a wide distribution throughout the North Pacific and North Atlantic, is putatively the sister group of a monophyletic group including these four genera. Bolin's genus Radulinus (including Radulinopsis as a subgenus) and Taranetz's subfamily Radulinae (including only Radulinus and Radulinopsis) are polyphyletic and therefore invalid. Received: September 7, 1999 / Revised: April 28, 2000 / Accepted: August 29, 2000     

The taxonomic status of Architipula fragmentosa (Bode) and the family Eoasilidae (Diptera) from the Lower Jurassic

The fossil species Architipula fragmentosa (Bode) comb. nov. (Diptera: Nematocera: Limoniidae) from the German Upper Lias (Lower Jurassic) is redescribed. This species was originally described by Bode (1953) in a new monotypic genus as Eoasilidea fragmentosa and placed in the Brachycera, with Eoasilidea as the type-genus of a new family Eoasilidae. This family is here synonymized with the Limoniidae (Nematocera), and the genus Eoasilidea is synonymized with Architipula Handlirsch .     

Revision of the orchid bee subgenus Euglossella (Hymenoptera, Apidae), Part I, The decorata species group

Euglossella, one of the most distinctive subgenera of orchid bees of the genus Euglossa, is composed of two characteristic assemblages of species, one of them comprising bees bearing the strongly metallic integument trademark of the genus (viridis species group), and the other consisting of bees with a brown integument shaded with metallic iridescence (decorata species group). Here we provide the first of two parts of a revision of Euglossella, providing diagnostic definitions for the subgenus, the decorata species group, and all the species included therein. Six species are included in the decorata group, one new: Euglossa (Euglossella) aurantia, sp. n.; Euglossa (Euglossella) apiformis Schrottky, resurrected status; Euglossa (Euglossella) decorata Smith, revised status; Euglossa (Euglossella) singularis Mocsáry, revised status; Euglossa (Euglossella) cosmodora Hinojosa-Díaz and Engel; and Euglossa (Euglossella) perpulchra Moure and Schlindwein. Euglossa meliponoides Ducke and Euglossa urarina Hinojosa-Díaz and Engel are newly synonymized under Euglossa decorata, Euglossa decorata ruficauda Cockerell is synonymized under Euglossa singularis, and a neotype is designated for Euglossa apiformis.     

Egg size evolution in tropical American arcid bivalves: the comparative method and the fossil record

Marine organisms exhibit a wide range of egg sizes, even among closely related taxa, and egg size is widely considered to be one of the most important components of the life histories of marine species. The nature of the trade-off between egg size and number and the consequences of variation in egg size for offspring growth and survivorship have been extensively modeled. Yet, there is little empirical evidence that supports the relative importance of particular environmental parameters in engendering the tremendous variation in egg size seen in marine organisms. This study compares egg sizes between six geminate species pairs of bivalves in the family Arcidae to determine whether egg size differs in predictable directions between geminate species in the two oceans separated by the Central American isthmus, and whether the direction and timing of egg size evolution among geminates in this family is correlated with both modern and paleoceanographic patterns of oceanic productivity. In all modern members of six geminate pairs, egg size was larger in the species in the western Atlantic than in its sister species the eastern Pacific. This pattern supports the hypothesis that optimal egg size differs in the two oceans due to the low productivity and poor larval feeding environment in the western Atlantic relative to the eastern Pacific. The fossil record of one geminate pair shows that egg size has remained consistently large in the western Atlantic from the Miocene to the Recent, while egg size in the eastern Pacific has decreased to the current small size in less than 2 million years; this suggests that modern-day differences between egg sizes in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific are due to either an increase in productivity in the eastern Pacific and subsequent selection for smaller eggs in that ocean, or differential patterns of extinction that occurred well after the rise of the isthmus. These results agree with ancestral character state reconstruction using linear parsimony, but differ from squared-change parsimony reconstructions.     

A revision of the tribe Plectrothripini of fungus-feeding Thysanoptera (Phlaeothripidae: Phlaeothripinae)

Abstract The tribe Plectrothripini is redefined with examination of its systematic relationships. Keys are provided to the ten genera and forty-seven species in this tribe; one genus and eighteen species are newly described; one genus and two species are newly synonymized; two genera, Chiridothrips and Eurytrichothrips , are here removed from this tribe. The species of the tribe occur throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world; seventeen species are recorded from the Oriental Region, seventeen species from the Neotropical Region, ten species from the Afrotropical Region, two from Australia and one from the Pacific. They seem to be fungus-feeders, being found mainly under the bark of trees or on dead branches.     

A new species of Trinectes (Pleuronectiformes: Achiridae), with comments on the other eastern Pacific species of the genus

A new eastern Pacific achirid, Trinectes xanthurus, has a distinctive yellow or light caudal fin, without pattern, to contrast with its relatively dark body. This species also has black, posterior margins of the dorsal and anal fins and 21-22 caudal vertebrae, versus 19-20 for its Pacific coast congeners. It usually is found in shallow, continental shelf waters on sand or mud bottoms and ranges from Colombia to El Salvador. The genus Trinectes is represented in the eastern Pacific by four species. A fifth species usually occurs in Pacific slope drainages (freshwater) in Panama. Of these species, only Trinectes fonsecensis is found throughout the tropical eastern Pacific, while the other three coastal species are confined to tropical waters south of the Golfo de Tehauntepec.     

PHYLOGENY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE ATLANTIC AND EASTERN PACIFIC HYPSELODORIS STIMPSON, 1855 (NUDIBRANCHIA, CHROMODORIDIDAE) WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FROM THE CARIBBEAN SEA

A new species, based on two specimens from Guana Island, BritishVirgin Islands, is described. The new species agrees with thegenus Hypselodoris in having a high body profile, a large vestibulargland and mantle glands. It differs from other members of thegenus in the Atlantic Ocean by having a reddish background bodycolour. In addition, dorsal colour patterns such as a broadcentral white line with lateral extensions and the lack of yellowlines or spots further differentiate this species. The radularformula of 52x41.0.41 and a smaller seminal receptacle are alsodistinctive. The phylogenetic relationships of 34 species andsubspecies of Hypselodoris from the eastern Pacific and Atlanticare examined using morphological characters. With the exceptionof the new species, these are characterized by a dark blue backgroundbody colour. The phylogenetic analysis of the data matrix resultedin eight most-parsimonious trees. The resulting consensus treeshows that eastern Pacific and Atlantic species of Hypselodorisconstitute a monophyletic group that is basally split into twosister clades. One clade contains the eastern Pacific speciesand most of the Caribbean species, whereas the other clade containsthe eastern Atlantic species. The new species is the sisterto the rest of the Caribbean species, which also form a monophyleticgroup. This phylogenetic hypothesis suggests that two consecutivevicariant events have affected the biogeography of Hypselodoris:(1) the closure of communication between the tropical Indo-Pacificregion and the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, completed withthe formation of the East Pacific Barrier; and (2) the riseof the Panama isthmus. (Received 19 December 2003; accepted 12 October 2005)     

A reassessment of the eels of the genus Bathycongrus in the Indo-west Pacific

Difficulties in identifying the species of the congrid eel genus Bathycongrus Ogilby, 1898 that frequent the upper slope in the Indo-west Pacific arise principally because these eels possess very few distinctive external characters. The differences in body proportions between the seven species that are recognized here are not easy to evaluate because of the frequent loss and subsequent regrowth of the tail tip. There are differences in the size and number of vomerine teeth, though these are not readily quantifiable, and in the number of vertebrae. However, the combination of these two characters allows the recognition of large/small-toothed forms and those with low-count, mid-count, and high-count vertebral numbers. The solution here has been to lump together some of the 16 nominal species.
Accordingly, seven Indo-west Pacific species are recognized in this account. Uranoconger Fowler, 1934 is synonymized with Bathycongrus. Larval characters, especially the number of myomeres, may be of some assistance in resolving the problems of species identification. A key to the species is given.     

System of the class Holothuroidea

Various interpretations of the holothurian system and phylogeny are critically reviewed and the main characters that form the basis of the existing systematics of this group are analyzed. A system of holothurians based on thorough analysis of their morphology and anatomy is proposed. Four subclasses are recognized in the class Holothuroidea: Arthrochirotacea, Synaptacea, Elpidiacea, and Holothuriacea. The subclass Arthrochirotacea includes the extinct Paleozoic order Arthrochirotida. The subclass Synaptacea includes the order Synaptida with two suborders and three families. The subclass Elpidiacea includes the order Elasipodida with four families. The subclass Holothuriacea includes four orders: Aspidochirotida with five families; Dendrochirotida with 15 families (14 extant and one extinct); Molpadiida with three families; Gephyrothuriida with one family and two genera Gephyrothuria and Hadalothuria. The order Gephyrothuriida is re-established. The order Dactylochirotida Pawson et Fell, 1965 is synonymized under the order Dendrochirotida. A new suborder Cucumariina and new family Mesothuriidae are described. The family Vaneyellidae is synonymized under the family Cucumariidae. Four subfamilies are classified as families: Cladolabidae, Sclerothyonidae, Monilipsolidae, and Thyonidiidae.     

A sea water barrier to coral gene flow

Land is not the only barrier to dispersal encountered by marine organisms. For sedentary shallow water species, there is an additional, marine barrier, 5000 km of uninterrupted deep‐water stretch between the central and the eastern Pacific. This expanse of water, known as the ‘Eastern Pacific Barrier’, has been separating faunas of the two oceanic regions since the beginning of the Cenozoic. Species with larvae that cannot stay in the plankton for the time it takes to cross between the two sides have been evolving independently. That the eastern Pacific does not share species with the rest of the Pacific was obvious to naturalists two centuries ago (Darwin 1860). Yet, this rule has exceptions. A small minority of species are known to straddle the Eastern Pacific Barrier. One such exception is the scleractinian coral Porites lobata (Fig.  1 ). This species is spread widely throughout the Indo‐Pacific, where it is one of the major reef‐builders, but it is also encountered in the eastern Pacific. Are eastern and central Pacific populations of this coral connected by gene flow? In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Baums et al. (2012) use microsatellite data to answer this question. They show that P. lobata populations in the eastern Pacific are cut off from genetic influx from the rest of the Pacific. Populations within each of the two oceanic regions are genetically connected (though those in the Hawaiian islands are also isolated). Significantly, the population in the Clipperton Atoll, the westernmost island in the eastern Pacific, genetically groups with populations from the central Pacific, suggesting that crossing the Eastern Pacific Barrier by P. lobata propagules does occasionally occur.     

A revision of the lygaeid genus Pseudopachybrachius (Hemiptera)

Abstract. The rhyparochromine lygaeid genus Pseudopachybrachius is revised. Four species are recognized in the perplexing vinctus-gvoup (viz capicola, reductus, vinctus and guttus) based on the genitalia details and external features. One new species, P.concepcioni sp.nov., is described from the West Indies and South America. New distributional records are given for all species. Pamera dubia Reuter 1882 is synonymized with Pseudopachybrachius reductus (Walker, 1872) and a neotype is designated for Rhyparochromus inconspicuus Dallas, 1852. A key and diagnostic characters of seven species are given. Phylogenetic and zoogeographic relationships are discussed. Illustrations of the genitalia, a cladogram and diagnostic external features are included.