New liverwort records for Vietnam

A short collecting expedition to Vietnam in 2016 yielded 700 specimens of 170 liverwort species of which 79 were new to the flora of Vietnam, including 43 species new to Indochina. Many of the newly recorded species have meta-Himalayan distributions (that predicts occurrence of these taxa in the areas of north-west Vietnam situated in the south-easternmost spurs of the Himalaya). Some species were recorded based on the study of living material, permitting the examination of oil body characteristics for Riccardia and Calypogeia. The known taxonomic liverwort diversity of Vietnam is currently 379 taxa, estimated to represent ca 80% of the actual taxonomic diversity in the country.     

New records of marine benthic algae from New South Wales, eastern Australia

Twenty‐four species of marine macroalgae are recorded from the mainland coast of New South Wales for the first time. One species, Laurencia platyclada Boergesen, represents a new record for Australia and the Pacific Ocean. Included in these new records is the introduced, invasive and cold‐tolerant strain of the green alga Caulerpa taxifolia, which was formerly known only as native, non‐invasive populations from Lord Howe Island. Based on published accounts, the composition of the marine benthic algae for the state of New South Wales now stands at 131 green, 140 brown and 449 red macroalgae. This baseline information adds significantly to our knowledge of the overall marine biodiversity of the state, as well as to the phycogeography of the southwestern Pacific region.     

Cheilostomatous Bryozoa from Vanuatu

The present account of some Bryozoa from Vanuatu is the first study of reef-flat species from the eastern Coral Sea. Based on samples collected from several shallow water localities on the island of Efate, a total of 92 species is described, including a new family, three new genera and 20 new species. Some of the newly recognized species are the result of taxonomic revision stimulated by these new samples, while others are entirely new to science. Of the new taxa described here, 16 are presently known only from Vanuatu. The total number of species recorded does not accurately represent the true taxonomic diversity of the Cheilostomatida of Vanuatu, and further sampling, at other localities and in other habitats, is needed before it can be reasonably estimated. The fauna is predominantly Indo-West Pacific in character with a high proportion of species apparently known only in the Southwest Pacific.     

The species of Ceramium (Ceramiaceae,Rhodophyta) around Taiwan

A taxonomic study was recently carried out on the species of Ceramium occurring around Taiwan. One hundred and fifty-one collections were made from January 1993 through spring 1994 at 75 sites distributed around the island. A total of thirteen species were found, including three for which names cannot currently be assigned: Ceramium aduncum, C. ciliatum, C. cimbricum, C. cliftonianum, C. flaccidum, C. gracillimum var. byssoideum, C. mazatlanense, C. nakamurai, C. paniculatum, C. tenerrimum and unidentified species 1, 2 and 3. Among these are three new records for Taiwan, C. cimbricum, C. cliftonianum, and C. mazatlanense. This paper summarizes the taxonomic characters of these species and presents a key for their identification. Distribution records of all 42 species reported from the tropical western Pacific are compared. This report is the first detailed record of the genus for Taiwan.     

Gelidiaceae (Rhodophyta) in Bahía de Banderas,Western Pacific,México

We present the results of a floristic study of intertidal species of Gelidiaceae collected in ten localities in the Bahía de Banderas region. The study area is within an extensive overlapping transitional zone between the tropical and subtropical regions of the Mexican Pacific coast. Species of the genera Gelidium and Pterocladia were found, G. microdentatum and G. pusillum being the most abundant and widely distributed in the Bay. The local and Mexican Pacific distribution for each species is given. The number of species found in this study is compared with the numbers reported in the literature for the Mexican Pacific.     

Systematic relationships of sympatric pipefishes (Syngnathus spp.): A mismatch between morphological and molecular variation

Analyses of mitochondrial DNA and morphological variation were performed on specimens of all five currently recognised Syngnathus pipefish species from the eastern Pacific Ocean with type localities currently considered to lie within the Californian marine biogeographic province: kelp pipefish Syngnathus californiensis, bay pipefish S. leptorhynchus, barred pipefish S. auliscus, barcheek pipefish S. exilis and chocolate pipefish S. euchrous. Results consistently differentiate S. auliscus from the other species and fail to distinguish all other specimens as distinct species, as indicated by extensive morphological overlap as well as incomplete lineage sorting and considerably low genetic divergence for 16s and coI genes(<1%). This study presents a taxonomic revision of eastern Pacific Syngnathus spp. and proposes the synonymy of S. leptorhynchus, S. euchrous and S. exilis, under the senior synonym, S. californiensis. There is still a need to study populations of Syngnathus spp. from north and south of the Californian province to assess whether these too are synonyms of the two-species recognised here.     

Australian Laurencia majuscula (Rhodophyta,Rhodomelaceae) and the Brazilian Laurencia dendroidea are conspecific

Morphological and molecular studies have been undertaken on two species of the red algal genus Laurencia J.V.Lamouroux: Laurencia majuscula (Harvey) A.H.S. Lucas and Laurencia dendroidea J.Agardh, both from their type localities. The phylogenetic position of these species was inferred by analysis of the chloroplast‐encoded rbcL gene sequences from 24 taxa. In all phylogenetic analyses, the Australian Laurencia majuscula and the Brazilian L. dendroidea formed a well‐supported monophyletic clade within the Laurencia sensu stricto. This clade was divided into two subclades corresponding to each geographical region; however, the genetic divergence between Australian L. majuscula and Brazilian L. dendroidea was only 0–1.35%. Examination of the type specimens and sequences of freshly collected samples of both Laurencia majuscula and L. dendroidea show the two to be conspecific despite their disjunct type localities.     

Marine algae from the Gulf of Santa Clara,Sonora, México

Four sites in the Gulf of Santa Clara, northwestern coast of Sonora, Mexico, were sampled seasonally during 1995–1996. A total of 43 species of marine algae were determined, which are recorded for the first time for the area of study. The families with best representation are: Gracilariaceae and Cladophoraceae, each with 5 species; and Corallinaceae, Rhodomelaceae, and Ulvaceae, each with 3. The highest diversity was found in autumn, the lowest in summer. The sites with the low diversity were Piedras del Burro with 7 species and El Tornillal with 18. These places are broad beaches, composed of sand and with few pebbles. The higher diversity was found at Punta Gorda with 34 species and Piedras de La Salina with 26. These localities are characterized by relatively stable rocky substrates, with some intertidal pools. The most common species regardless to distribution and occurrence over time were: Spyridia filamentosa, Dictyota flabellata, Struveopsis robusta, Cladophora microcladioides and Enteromorpha linza. Rosenvingea antillarum and Cladophora vagabunda represent new records for the Gulf of California. Nine epiphytic species were identified, which were frequently observed on Gelidium crinale, Spyridia filamentosa and Dictyota flabellata.     

Systematic revision of mountain dragons (Reptilia: Agamidae: Diploderma) in China,with descriptions of six new species and discussion on their conservation

Cryptic diversity not only introduces confusion to taxonomic studies, but it also poses major challenges to conservation and environmental legislation. One such troubling group are the Mountain Dragons in the genus Diploderma in Southwest China. Previous studies have suggested that the genus contains considerable cryptic diversity, particularly in the D. flaviceps complex. Owing to taxonomic confusion, micro‐endemic lineages are still neglected by the Chinese wildlife protection laws, despite their urgent conservation needs. Combining multivariate morphological and multi‐locus phylogenetic data, we provide the first integrative systematic revision of the genus Diploderma. Specifically, we confirm that the six examined populations of D. cf. flaviceps from the upper Jinsha and Yalong River Valleys in Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces represent six cryptic, undescribed lineages, and we describe each of them as a new species. With the updated taxonomy and distribution information, we discuss the taxonomy of the D. flaviceps complex in Southwest China, provide an updated diagnostic key along with distributional ranges for all species of the genus, and discuss some of the suspicious records of other congeners in China. Lastly, we evaluate the IUCN status of each of the six new species and highlight the major challenges for Diploderma conservation in China due to delayed environmental legislation and misleading conservation assessments.     

Diversity of the free-living marine and freshwater Copepoda (Crustacea) in Costa Rica: a review

The studies on marine copepods of Costa Rica started in the 1990’s and focused on the largest coastal-estuarine systems in the country, particularly along the Pacific coast. Diversity is widely variable among these systems: 40 species have been recorded in the Culebra Bay influenced by upwelling, northern Pacific coast, only 12 in the Gulf of Nicoya estuarine system, and 38 in Golfo Dulce, an anoxic basin in the southern Pacific coast of the country. Freshwater environments of Costa Rica are known to harbor a moderate diversity of continental copepods (25 species), which includes 6 calanoids, 17 cyclopoids and only two harpacticoids. Of the +100 freshwater species recorded in Central America, six are known only from Costa Rica, and one appears to be endemic to this country. The freshwater copepod fauna of Costa Rica is clearly the best known in Central America. Overall, six of the 10 orders of Copepoda are reported from Costa Rica. A previous summary by 2001 of the free-living copepod diversity in the country included 80 marine species (67 pelagic, 13 benthic). By 2009, the number of marine species increased to 209: 164 from the Pacific (49% of the copepod fauna from the Eastern Tropical Pacific) and 45 from the Caribbean coast (8% of species known from the Caribbean Basin). Both the Caribbean and Pacific species lists are growing. Additional collections of copepods at Cocos Island, an oceanic island 530 km away of the Pacific coast, have revealed many new records, including five new marine species from Costa Rica. Currently, the known diversity of marine copepods of Costa Rica is still in development and represents up to 52.6% of the total marine microcrustaceans recorded in the country. Future sampling and taxonomic efforts in the marine habitats should emphasize oceanic environments including deep waters but also littoral communities. Several Costa Rican records of freshwater copepods are likely to represent undescribed species. Also, the biogeographic relevance of the inland copepod fauna of Costa Rica requires more detailed surveys.     

Range extension and morphological characterization of rhodolith-forming species (Corallinales,Rhodophyta) from shallow water in the Mexican South Pacific

Living rhodolith beds are widely distributed along the Eastern Pacific ocean. Despite their widespread distribution, little is known about the rhodolith-forming species from shallow water in the Mexican South Pacific. Many taxonomic and morphological studies about rhodoliths have been carried out in the Gulf of California, where the forming species belong to the Hapalidiaceae and Corallinaceae families. This paper is the first report on the occurrence of the rhodolith-forming Hapalidiaceae species Lithothamnion muelleri and Phymatolithon repandum at three sites in the Mexican South Pacific. The branch density, maximum length and sphericity were measured for each determined species. Rhodoliths were distributed between 4 and 6 m depth, but differences in the branch density between species and sites were not found. Finally, the present record of L. muelleri fills the gap in the species distribution along the Eastern Pacific ocean, while the record of P. repandum is the first of the species in the region.     

First record of the association between Malmgreniella cf. variegata (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) and Ophionereis annulata (Echinodermata, Ophionereididae) in the Mexican Pacific

An association between the scale-worm Malmgreniella cf. variegata and the ophiuroid Ophionereis annulata is reported for first time in the Mexican Pacific. The relationship was found in five localities across a total of 22 sites where O. annulata was collected. The polynoids collected were similar to the Western Atlantic scale-worm Malmgreniella variegata, which was previously recorded as commensal of O. annulata on the Pacific side of Panama, although they differ in colour pattern and the presence of notochaetae with a unidentate tip. The prevalence of infestation was 5 % and the intensity was 1.20. Experimental observations suggest that the behaviour of the scale-worm on O. annulata could be affected by light conditions, and that the commensal had a preference for its host over other ophiuroid species. More studies should be carried out to determine the taxonomic status of M. cf. variegata in the Eastern Pacific and to further elucidate the commensal–host relationship between this scale-worm and O. annulata.     

New records of three marine red algae from Japan

Three species in the red algal order Ceramiales, Dasya longifila Masuda et Uwai (Dasyaceae), Endosiphonia horrida (C. Agardh) P. Silva (Rhodomelaceae) and Laurencia flexilis Setchell (Rhodomelaceae), are reported from Japan for the first time, and their morphological features are described along with taxonomic comments. Our findings point to the northernmost limit of geographic distribution of these species in the north‐western Pacific. Dasya longifila is characterized by small, sparsely corticated axes, long pseudolaterals in which intercalary cell divisions take place, and a small number of tetrasporangial stichidia and spermatangial branches per fertile pseudolateral. Endosiphonia horrida is characterized by frequently anastomosing branches that form a bush‐like tuft without a percurrent axis, inner cortical cells becoming the same length as the axial and periaxial cells, and luxuriously developed, unbranched trichoblasts. Laurencia flexilis is characterized by numerous cartilaginous rigid axes developing from a basal disc without creeping branches, the production of 4 periaxial cells per vegetative segment and the absence of longitudinally oriented secondary pit‐connections between contiguous superficial cortical cells.     

Ochtodes searlesii sp. nov. (Gigartinales,Rhodophyta), from the Pacific tropical coast of Mexico,based on morphological and molecular evidence

Ochtodes searlesii Mendoza‐González, Mateo‐Cid et Sentíes sp. nov. is described from Michoacán, tropical Mexican Pacific, on the basis of comparative morphology and rbcL sequence analysis. It is distinguished from other Ochtodes species by its erect axes arising from an encrusting base, its small terete fronds, regularly dichotomously branched axes, and obliquely divided zonate tetrasporangia. Phylogenetic analyses showed that three Pacific Mexican samples, from Caletilla, Zapote and La Majahuita (Michoacán), were identical and formed a distinctive and well supported Clade segregated from other species of Ochtodes from Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guadeloupe and Mexico. The Mexican entity is morphologically distinct from other Ochtodes species as well. On this basis we propose a new Ochtodes species.