Two new copepod genera (Poecilostomatoida) associated with the scleractinian coral Psammocora in New Caledonia

The anchimolgid copepod Paraclamocus hiulcus gen. n., sp. n., associated with the coral Psammocora togianensis near Nouméa, New Caledonia, is remarkable for the form of its mandible, with the inner margin broadly and deeply incised. The rhynchomolgid copepod Numboa porosa gen. n., sp. n., associated with Psammocora contigua , has a much flattened, discoidal prosome with many small surficial pores and lacks leg 4 and the endopod of leg 3. More than 200 species of copepods are associated with New Caledonian invertebrates, 80 of them with Scleractinia.     

Copepoda associated with the coral Gardineroseris planulata (Dana) on the Great Barrier Reef,northeastern Australia

Three new lichomolgid copepods associated with the scleractinian Gardineroseris planulata (Dana) are described: Sociellus torus, n. gen., n. sp., characterized by a 2-segmented endopod in leg 3 and the lack of an inner seta on the first segment of the endopod in legs 1–3; Odontomolgus pumilus, n. sp., of very small size and having a much elongated free segment in leg 5 of the female; and Paramolgus ampullaceus, n. sp., distinguished by the bottle-shaped genital segment of the female. In addition, the harpacticoid Alteuthellopsis corallina Humes, 1981, is reported from this coral. With the inclusion of 3 species of the poecilostomatoid genus Xarifia already described (Humes, 1985) there are now 7 species of copepods known to be associated with Gardineroseris planulata on the Great Barrier Reef.     

Copepoda Poecilostomatoida associated with Bivalvia from New Guinea

Four species of Copepoda Poecilostomatoida are recorded from the mantle cavity of bivalve molluscs collected in West New Guinea (Irian Barat, Indonesia). Two of these are new to science: Pseudanthessius dimorphus and Lichomolgus hoi n. spp.     

New records of ahermatypic scleractinian corals from the Kuril Islands

Four species of caryophyllid scleractinians, Caryophylla ambrosia, C. scobinosa, C. alaskensis, and Polymyces montereyensis, were recorded for the first time in the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kuril Islands. These findings extend the range for the species, of which three had previously been considered to be restricted to the tropical and warm Indopacific waters. These data will supplement regional reports on the bottom fauna of the most fertile and extensively commercially exploited continental shelf region of the North Pacific.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Biologiya Morya, Latypov.     

Twenty-one new Polyplectropus species from New Caledonia (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae)

Twenty-one new Polycentropodidae (Trichoptera) species are described: Polyplectropus aberrus, P. dorsospinus, P. nodyg, P. yndog, P. clavus, P. nathalae, P. millei, P. christinae, P. koueus, P. viklundi, P. hovmoelleri, P. aoupiniensis, P. tenerus, P. angustus, P. curvispinus, P. caledonia, P. piroguensis, P. triangulatus, P. pernodensis, P. taoensis, and P. papei spp. novae, representing the first species records of this family from New Caledonia. A key to males of the New Caledonian Polycentropodidae is provided, and distribution maps are presented for all species.     

西藏纳木错西岸班戈县新吉乡早白垩世的石珊瑚

西藏纳木错西岸班戈县新吉乡的早白垩世地层发育,珊瑚化石丰富,经过鉴定、描述、研究,计有白垩纪石珊瑚10属10种(其中有3新种),它们是Axosmilia sp., Cyathophora? sp., Eohydnophora baingoinensis sp. nov.,Epistreptophyllum cf. diatritum Wu, Hydnophora styriaca (Michelin), Ironella giseldonensis Starostina and Krasnov in Krasnov and Starostina,Placophyllia baingoinensissp.nov.,Protethmoscf.discusLiaoandXia,Protochocyathus ?sp.,Stylina namcoensissp.nov.。上述石珊瑚属在欧亚大陆的侏罗、白垩纪地层中都有广泛分布。其中,Cyathophora ? sp.与申扎县果芒错下白垩统所产出的Cyathophora gomangcoensis Liao and Xia比较相似,只是个体直径要...     

Copepoda (cyclopoida,Lichomolgidae) associated with the Alcyonacean Nephthea in the moluccas

In the Moluccas five lichomolgid copepods are associated with soft corals of the genus Nephthea. Paramolgus nephtheanus, n. sp., from Nephthea chabrolii, Nephthea sphaerophora, Nephthea cupressiformis, Nephthea albida, and Nephthea galbuloides, Paramolgus prominulus, n. sp., from N. sphaerophora, N. cupressiformis, and N. albida, and Paramolgus accinctus, n. sp., from N. sphaerophora, N. cupressiformis, N. albida, and N. galbuloides are distinguished from conspecifics by combinations of several characters. These include, among others, the length of the caudal ramus, the form of the female genital segment, and the shape of leg 5 in the female. Mecra ellipsaria, n. gen., n. sp., from N. sphaerophora has only two setae on the fourth segment of the first antenna, the formula II, 2 on the third endopod segment of leg 3, and five aesthetes on the second segment of the first antenna of the male. In Metaxymolgus lumarius, n. sp., from N. galbuloides and N. cupressiformis, the two claws on the second antenna are longer than the fourth second antennal segment and the proximal inner expansion of leg 5 in the female has a thorn-like process. Metaxymolgus aculeatus (Humes & Ho, 1968) occurs on N. chabrolii, N. sphaerophora, N. cupressiformis, N. albida, and N. galbuloides.     

Revision of the genusPandanus stickman,part 45 newPandanus species (Pandanaceae) from New Caledonia

To the 20 species and varieties of previously known in New Caledonia, there are here described and added three more species, one each in the sectionsBernardia, Lophostigma, andVeillonia.     

Life history of the silverside Atherinomorus lacunosus (Atherinidae) in New Caledonia

The abundance, the seasonal variation and the life history of the silverside, Atherinomorus lacunosus , are studied from fish caught in the lagoons around New Caledonia. About 270 nights of fishing were carried out between 1980 and 1983. The silverside is present in most of the fishing hauls but seldom in large quantities. Fish reproduce from September to December at 1 year of age. At this time their size is about 10 cm. Mortality is high and a few individuals can survive a second year and reach 13 cm. Results from other studies indicate that in a less seasonally contrasted environment than the lagoons of New Caledonia, A. lacunosus has several spawning periods during the year. This species is thus able to adjust its phenology to the environmental conditions.     

Oncaea frosti,a new species (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida) from the Liberian coast and the Gulf of Mexico

A new species, Oncaea frosti, is described and compared to O. venusta Philippi and O. venella Farran. The three species are closely related and difficult to distinguish, except for the differences in size of females and males and dorsal dilation of pediger 2 of females of O. frosti.     

Two siphonostomatoid copepods (Coralliomyzontidae) associated with the ahermatypic coral Tubastraea in the Moluccas

Two siphonostomatoid copepods (Coralliomyzontidae) are associatedwith the ahermatypic coral Tubastraea micracantha at Banda inthe Moluccas. Cholomyzon brevisetigerum, new species, hasunusually short setae on the caudal rami. Corallimyzonlatitergum, new species, has an enlarged, posteriorly slightlytrilobate tergum on the third metasomal somite and lacksleg 4.     

New records of marine benthic algae from the Lagon Sud-Ouest of New Caledonia, South Pacific

As part of an ongoing project to substantially increase knowledge of the marine algal flora of the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, a survey of the Nouméa region was conducted that has resulted in the discovery of 41 previously unrecorded species of macroalgae, including 1 Chlorophyta, 1 Phaeophyceae (Heterokontophyta) and 39 Rhodophyta. Among the biogeographically interesting new records are the green macroalga Rhipilia penicilloides N’Yeurt et Keats (previously endemic to the islands of Fiji some 1000 km east of new Caledonia) and the brown alga Cutleria mollis Allender et Kraft (originally described from Lord Howe Island some 1000 km to the south). The red alga Gloiophloea articulata Weber‐van Bosse, known only from its initial discovery in 1928 from the Mascarene Islands in the western Indian Ocean, is now recorded in the deep‐water channels of the Nouméa region of New Caledonia. The widely distributed Indian Ocean species Corynomorpha prismatica (J. Agardh) J. Agardh has its easternmost distribution record from this area, and Dotyella hawaiiensis (Doty et Wainwright) Womersley et Shepley is recorded for the first time outside its central‐Pacific distribution. These new discoveries represent a 12% increase in the total number of species (377) that are reliably known from New Caledonia.     

A unique skeletal microstructure of the deep‐sea micrabaciid scleractinian corals

Micrabaciids are solitary, exclusively azooxanthellate deep‐sea corals belonging to one of the deepest‐living (up to 5,000 m) scleractinian representatives. All modern micrabaciid taxa (genera: Letepsammia, Rhombopsammia, Stephanophyllia, Leptopenus) have a porous and often very fragile skeleton consisting of two main microstructural components known also from other scleractinians: rapid accretion deposits and thickening deposits. However, at the microstructural level, the skeletal organization of the micrabaciids is distinctly different from that of other scleractinians. Rapid accretion deposits consist of alternations of superimposed “microcrystalline” (micrometer‐sized aggregates of nodular nanodomains) and fibrous zones. In contrast to all shallow‐water and sympatric deep‐water corals so far described, the thickening deposits of micrabaciids are composed of irregular meshwork of short (1–2 μm) and extremely thin (ca. 100–300 nm) fibers organized into small, chip‐like bundles (ca. 1–2 μm thick). Longer axes of fiber bundles are usually subparallel to the skeletal surfaces and oriented variably in this plane. The unique microstructural organization of the micrabaciid skeleton is consistent with their monophyletic status based on macromorphological and molecular data, and points to a diversity of organic matrix‐mediated biomineralization strategies in Scleractinia. J. Morphol.,2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Panbiogeography of New Caledonia: a response to Heads (2008)

The definition of areas of endemism is one of the most important steps for historical biogeography. Here I review the dataset used by Heads (Journal of Biogeography, 2008, 35 , 2153–2175) for his panbiogeographical analysis of the New Caledonian biota. I highlight that some of the distribution data appear dubious (some localities should have been included while some others should have been deleted) when compared with current databases. In addition, some conclusions are not supported by the data themselves.     

Fire and succession in the ultramafic maquis of New Caledonia

Aim This study investigates the role of fire and post fire succession in determining the structure and composition of vegetation on ultramafic iron crust soils. Location The study was conducted in the Plaines des Lacs region of southern New Caledonia. Methods A survey was made of eighty-eight sites, recording floristic composition, trunk size-class distributions, regeneration after fire, growth ring counts of Dacrydium araucarioides (Podocarpaceae) and historical information on past fires. Floristic data was ordinated using multidimensional scaling and an index of succession based on structural and historical information. A transition matrix model was developed to predict the effect of fire frequency on vegetation composition. Results The vegetation is undergoing postfire succession from maquis to forest, after about 75 years, and eventually to rainforest. Gymnostoma deplancheanum has a key role as an early colonist that produces shade, the bulk of the litter, and forms nitrogen fixing nodules with Frankia sp. However, the open canopy of Gymnostoma and slow litter decay creates flammable conditions. Though many species resprout from rootstocks, only thirty-nine persist through fires while 114 others colonize at later successional stages, as the litter layer and shade increase. Some early successional species are later excluded but these can persist locally in swamps and on rocky hill tops. Forest and rainforest are less flammable and the matrix model suggests that ignition frequency has a critical role in determining the abundance of maquis or forest. Main conclusions The vegetation mosaic represents a post fire succession from open maquis to forest. Palynological and charcoal records from late Pleistocene sediments suggest that fire has been a major factor determining the development of maquis vegetation since before the arrival of humans. Recently, frequent fires have converted much of the vegetation to maquis, posing a threat to some forest species and largely eliminating rainforest from iron crust soils.     

First record of Aulacidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) from New Caledonia with descriptions of three new species of Aulacus Jurine

Abstract The parasitoid wasp family Aulacidae is recorded for the first time from New Caledonia, and three new species are described: Aulacus burwelli, A. coracinus , and A. emineo . Although recorded from just a few specimens, these species appear to be restricted to the moist evergreen rainforest areas of the main island of Grande Terre. They appear unrelated to Australian members of the family, based on a number of characters associated with the forewing venation and hind coxal morphology, as well as size and colour. A key to distinguish the species is presented, as well as information on their distribution and possible relationships.     

New Data on Scleractinians from the Northwestern Sea of Japan

three species of scleractinians, individual caryophyllids Caryophyllia alaskensis, C. japonica, and the colonial dendrophyllid Dendrophyllia arbuscula were described for the first time for the Sea of Japan. The findings of these corals in different areas of Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan, allow us to expand their geographic range and the depth range of their distribution. The depth of inhabitation reached 1280 m for C. alaskensis and up to 15–3 m deep for D. arbuscula.