New species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bathycongrus—B. parviporus</Emphasis> (Congridae,Anguilliformes)—from waters of Central Vietnam (Nha Trang and Van Phong Bays)

Bathycongrus parviporus sp. nova is described from specimens collected in the South China Sea, in the coastal waters of central Vietnam. By its characters (short snout, elongate-oval vomerine tooth patch with numerous small teeth of approximately the same size, slender relatively short tail, and residual leptocephalic pigmentation as a series of small melanophores just below lateral line in adults), the species belongs to the group of species of this genus represented by B. bleekeri, B. trimaculatus, and B. unimaculatus in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and B. dubius in the western Atlantic Ocean but differs in small infraorbital pores which are enlarged in all known species of the genus Bathycongrus. By the number of preanal pores, the new species is similar to B. bleekeri from Philippine waters but differs from it in a higher number of vertebrae (120–122), in more numerous rows of teeth on the premaxilloethmoid, in more number of branchiostegal rays (9–10), a shorter head, and in some other proportions of head and body. Topography of canals and pores of the cephalic seismosensory system of B. parviporus sp. nova is described. Morphometric and osteological characters for placing this species in the genus Bathycongrus are noted.     

New data on Lepidion schmidti (Gadiformes: Moridae) from the north-east Atlantic Ocean

A new record of Lepidion schmidti (Gadiformes: Moridae) is reported from the Bay of Biscay (north-east Atlantic Ocean). Lepidion schmidti is a rare and poorly known species, scarcely described in the ichthyological literature. Morphometric and meristic characteristics of the specimen are given. A compilation of the specimens caught in the north-east Atlantic Ocean was carried out and the current status of the species in Atlantic waters is discussed. Lepidion schmidti is characterized mainly by the presence of an inverted V-shaped patch of vomerine teeth and a V-shaped crest on the dorsal surface of the head with the apex anterior. The presence of supernumerary anal fin rays in this species is described for the first time. The results obtained confirm the presence of L. schmidti from the north-east Atlantic Ocean.     

Observations on the morphology, ecology, and behaviour of Bathylychnops exilis Cohen

Bathylychnops exilis is an unusual north-eastern Pacific mesopelagic fish of which adults have previously been undescribed and the biology is poorly known. Its sensory and digestive systems are highly modified. Sensory modifications include the equivalent of four functional eyes, well developed nasal rosettes, and lateral line canals up to 4 mm in diameter. Digestive adaptations include a peculiar mouth, large tongue, crumenal organ, and a large caecal stomach. Bathylychnops exilis apparently lacks an anal light organ. Ontogenetic changes occur in the morphology of the head, eyes, body, and coloration. Bathylychnops exilis eats crustaceans and may be medusae and microscopic organisms. Reproduction probably occurs in late summer. Adults occur most commonly at about 500 m depth, possibly in groups, and may be diurnal vertical migrators.     

A new species of Ameripodius (Aves: Galliformes: Quercymegapodiidae) from the Lower Miocene of France

The Quercymegapodiidae, primitive galliforms resembling recent megapodes, have been described from the Upper Eocene of Quercy, France. They have also been identified in the Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene of Brazil, where they are represented by the genus Ameripodius Alvarenga. A new species of this genus, Ameripodius alexis sp. nov., from the Lower Miocene of France, is described here. The occurrence of the same genus on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean emphasizes the similarities between South American and European avifaunas during the early Tertiary. New discoveries indicate that a similar avifauna was also present in North America, and that a characteristic association of taxa can be defined for the group that includes South America, North America and Eurasia. However, so far as is known, the same avifauna does not occur in contemporaneous African avifaunas.     

A Review of the Sipunculan Genus Thysanocardia Fisher

The taxonomy of the sipunculan taxon Thysanocardia Fisher is reviewed. Originally erected as a subgenus of Golfingia Lankester, the status of Thysanocardia is here elevated to the level of a genus. Of the 17 species currently recognised within this genus, most of which were originally described from single specimens, only three are considered sufficiently distinct as to warrant specific status, namely T. catherinae (Grube), T. procera (Möbius) and T. nigra (Ikeda). T. catherinae is the most widespread of these species being distributed in the western North Atlantic, South Atlantic and western Indian Ocean, whilst T. procera is confined to the north-eastem region of the North Atlantic and T. nigra chiefly to the North Pacific Ocean.     

A review of the pelagic ophidioid fish genus Brotulataenia with descriptions of two new species

An osteological study and a taxonomic diagnosis are presented for the mesopelagic, oviparous ophidioid fish genus Brotulataenia. Its relationships are probably with a large group of benthic deep-sea oviparous genera. Brotulataenia has been known previously from three North Atlantic specimens assigned to two species. The present study is based on 33 specimens from the North and South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Indian Ocean, and placed in four species, two of which are described as new. Two species are excessively elongate and are interpreted as being derived forms; they are lighter in color than are the two short-bodied species and may live higher in the water column.     

Comments on the Atlantic species of the genus Evermannella (Scopelomorpha, Aulopiformes, Evermannellidae) with a re–evaluation of the status of Evermannella melanoderma

Examination of the alimentary canal of specimens of the genus Evermannella of the form previously referred to the circumglobal species E. indica Brauer, 1906 has revealed differences between specimens from the Atlantic Ocean and those caught in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. On the basis of gut morphology and skin pigmentation the Atlantic species E. melanoderma Parr, 1928 is distinguished from the Indo–Pacific E. indica . Some observations are presented on the size structure of the E. melanoderma population off Madeira.     

Phylogeography of North Atlantic intertidal tardigrades: refugia,cryptic speciation and the history of the Mid‐Atlantic Islands

Aim To analyse the phylogeographical history of intertidal tardigrades in the North Atlantic in order to improve our understanding of geographical differentiation in microscopic organisms, and to understand the potential importance of the Mid‐Atlantic Islands as stepping stones between the American and European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Location Twenty‐four localities from the Mid‐Atlantic Islands (Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) and both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Methods A mitochondrial marker (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) was sequenced from individual tardigrades belonging to the genus Echiniscoides. The existence of cryptic species was detected using generalized mixed Yule coalescence analysis; lineage ages were estimated with relaxed clock methods; and the degree of geographical differentiation was analysed with samova analyses, haplotype networks and Mantel tests. Results Echiniscoides hoepneri, previously known only from Greenland, was recovered throughout the Mid‐Atlantic Islands. The Faroe Islands population was isolated from Greenland and Iceland, but overall genetic variation was low. The morphospecies Echiniscoides sigismundi had high genetic variation and consisted of at least two cryptic species. A northern and a southern species were both recovered on both sides of the Atlantic, but only the northern species was found on the Mid‐Atlantic Islands. The northern species showed signs of long‐term isolation between the Western and Eastern Atlantic, despite the potential of the Mid‐Atlantic islands to act as stepping‐stones. There was no sign of long‐term isolation in the southern species. The Mid‐Atlantic individuals of the northern species were of Eastern Atlantic origin, but Greenland and Iceland showed signs of long‐term isolation. The genetic pattern found in the southern species is not clearly geographical, and can probably be best explained by secondary contact between former isolated populations. Main conclusions North Atlantic intertidal tardigrades from the genus Echiniscoides showed strong geographical differentiation, and the Mid‐Atlantic Islands seemed unimportant as stepping stones across the Atlantic. The geographical variation of the northern species of E. sigismundi suggests post‐glacial recolonization from several refugia.     

A New Species of Kinorhynchus (Homalorhagida, Pycnophyidae) from Australia with a Redescription and Range Extension of Other Kinorhyncha from the South Pacific

Kinorhynchus phyllotropis sp.n., from Sydney Harbour, is the first species of the phylum Kinorhyncha to be described from Australian coasts. It appears to be most closely related to K. anomalus (Lang, 1953) from the Chilean coast and possibly, but to a lesser extent, to K. spinosus (Lang, 1949) from the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Kinorhynchus anomalus is rede-scribed and, along with the new species, is compared with the South Atlantic species, the two species known from the Northeast Pacific and the remaining four members of this genus from the North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Cateria styx Gerlach, 1956, is reported from beaches north of Valparaiso, Chile, the first report of this mesopsarnmic cryptorhagid kinorhynch from the Pacific Ocean.     

Halacaridae (Acari) von der Atlantikküste des borealen Nordamerikas

38 halacarid species from the coasts of the boreal West Atlantic Ocean have been recorded. In a wide-spread net of stations, samples were taken from different substrata in marine and brackish waters in order to obtain information on the biology and ecology of halacarid species. Several habitats with their flora, fauna and halacarid species are described. In intertidal areas on the coasts of boreal North America fewer species were found than known from European coasts. Similar habitats on the west and east coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean are compared with respect to their halacarid population. In the rhombognathine and the genusHalacarellus, most species found in the West Atlantic Ocean are known in the East Atlantic too, living in similar habitats. The generaAnomalohalacarus andCopidognathus are common both in North American and European waters, but comparable biotopes are inhabited by different species, though often related or very similar in their appearance. 45 % of the halacarid species found in the boreal West Atlantic Ocean are also known in the East Atlantic. Hypotheses as to the dispersal and geographical distribution of halacarid genera and species are discussed. It is supposed, that many of the amphiatlantic species invaded biotopes on the American and European coasts, shortly after these continental plates drifted apart.     

Three new species of Paralomis (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura, Lithodidae) from the Pacific and Antarctic Oceans

Three new species of the lithodid genus Paralomis from the Sulawesi (Celebes) Islands, P. ochthodes sp.n., Chilean coast, P. tuberipes sp.n., and Antarctic Ocean, P. birsteini sp.n., are described and illustrated. The first two species have features that set them well apart from other species of the genus. Characters are also given to distinguish P. birsteini from the closely allied P. spectabilis Hansen (North Atlantic).     

Miocene bristlemouths (Teleostei: Stomiiformes: Gonostomatidae) from the Makrilia Formation,Ierapetra, Crete

Bristlemouths of the genus Cyclothone are currently regarded as the most abundant vertebrates on Earth. The fossil record seems to suggest that these fishes diversified during the Miocene in the Pacific Ocean, but there is no evidence of their presence in the Miocene of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean basin. A new bristlemouth, Cyclothone gaudanti sp. nov. (Teleostei, Stomiiformes, Gonostomatidae), is described herein based on 16 specimens from the Upper Miocene Makrilia Formation (late Tortonian of Crete, Greece). The small sized species is characterized by light pigmentation, 30–31 (14–15 + 15–16) vertebrae, dorsal fin with 10–13 rays, anal fin with 10–14 rays, premaxilla bearing seven closely spaced teeth, maxilla with 42–55 teeth, epipleurals, and autogenous parhypural. The presence of epipleurals appears to be unique of this Miocene species, and the re-establishment of this ancestral character state may be possibly interpreted as related to a phylogenetic character reversal. Morphological and paleoecological considerations suggest that this species possibly inhabited the upper mesopelagic layer, at depths ranging from 2–300 and 500 meters.     

A new species of Nezumia (Gadiformes: Macrouridae) from Fieberling Guyot, eastern North Pacific Ocean

A new species of the macrourine genus Nezumia is described from specimens collected from the crest of Fieberling Guyot in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. The new species is distinguishable from all other Nezumia species chiefly on the basis of a high number of pelvic fin rays, a relatively high number of first dorsal fin soft rays, a steep blunt snout lacking scales ventrally, a relatively weak suborbital ridge, and a moderately long, thin barbel. Although possibly endemic to the Baja California Seamount Province, the new species appears to lack close relatives among the other Nezumia species of the eastern North Pacific Ocean. It might have arrived there either from a disjunct Tethyan distribution, thus retaining close relatives among the Atlantic Ocean species of Nezumia, or by way of stepping-stone dispersal from the Indo-west Pacific Ocean.     

Sexual hybridization experiments and phylogenetic relationships as inferred from rubisco spacer sequences in the genus alaria (phaeophyceae)

Alaria (Alariaceae, Phaeophyceae) is a common genus of kelps generally found in the lower intertidal and shallow subtidal regions of rocky shores subject to strong wave exposure. Fourteen species are currently recognized, of which 11 are found in the cold–temperate North Pacific Ocean. Alaria esculenta (L.) Greville, the type species described from the North Atlantic, exhibits a range of biogeographically correlated morphotypes indicating the possibility of multiple species, subspecies, and/or hybrids. This has led to an unstable taxonomy. We compared five species from the Atlantic and Pacific, including six North Atlantic isolates of A. esculenta. Phylogenetic analyses based on Rubisco spacer sequences resulted in a well-resolved topology of these five species, but did not distinguish between the six biogeographic isolates of A. esculenta. Laboratory hybridization experiments among four A. esculenta isolates showed partial intrafertility. Among five tested Alaria species, interfertility as well as fertility barriers were encountered, inconsistent with reproductive isolation. The data reject both a biological and morphological species concept and support only a phylogenetic species concept for Alaria , demonstrating that morphological variation has evolved independently of molecular variation in the genes under investigation in the species of the genus Alaria.     

Biogeography of the benthic marine algae of the North Atlantic Ocean—an overview

An overview of the biogeography of the benthic marine algae of the North Atlantic Ocean is presented. General and specific distribution patterns are discussed in the light of current knowledge of extant species, and of known events in the evolution of the North Atlantic Ocean. The close relationships between the Arctic, NW and NE Atlantic floras suggest their possible origin as a single flora in the early Oligocene Arctic Ocean, when it was isolated by the Bering Land Bridge and the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Migration of the flora into the North Atlantic Ocean could have occurred with the subsidence of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. The present day distribution patterns are the main clue to unravelling the past, and study of vicariant amphi-Atlantic taxa using a variety of experimental techniques will yield the most valuable information in attempts to interpret major biogeographical events in the North Atlantic Ocean.