Molecular identification of Ammodytes (PISCES, Ammodytidae) larvae, with ontogenetic evidence on separating populations

A total of ten larval Ammodytes were collected from the Yellow (5 specimens) and Bering Seas (5), and a 638 base pair sequence from their mitochondrial DNA COI genes was analyzed for species identification. Sequences were compared with those of adult Ammodytes personatus from the East (4), the Yellow (2) and the East China Seas (2), and Japan (3). Average genetic distance was 0.064 between the Yellow Sea larvae and the Bering Sea larvae, but was 0.0043 between the Yellow Sea larvae and all the adult A. personatus except two individuals from the East Sea. NJ-tree showed that five Yellow Sea larvae were closely clustered with adult A. personatus, except for two individuals. The five Bering Sea larvae were located distantly from adult A. personatus, and are thought to be A. hexapterus. We found morphological differences among two populations of A. personatus larvae and A. hexapterus larvae in morphometric characters and pigmentation. Our results indicated that the East Sea population of A. personatus is closer to A. hexapterus than to the Yellow Sea population of A. personatus, suggesting the East Sea population may be part of separate species.     

Hysterothylacium simile n. sp. and H. aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802) (Nematoda: Raphidascarididae) from marine fishes in the Bohai and Yellow Sea, China, with comments on the record of H. paralichthydis (Yamaguti, 1941) from Chinese waters

Hysterothylacium simile n. sp., collected from the Japanese seabass Lateolabrax japonicus (Cuvier) (Perciformes: Lateolabracidae) in the Bohai Sea off China, is described using both light and scanning electron microscopy. The new species differs from its congeners in the presence of narrow lateral alae originating a short distance posterior to the base of the ventrolateral lips, a long intestinal caecum (60.4–79.1% of oesophageal length) and a relatively short ventricular appendix (intestinal caecum to ventricular appendix ratio 1:0.58–0.85), long spicules (2.11–2.99 mm, 4.25–7.83% of body length), the number and arrangement of the caudal papillae (32–36 pairs arranged as follows: 27–31 pairs precloacal, 1 pair paracloacal, and 4–5 pairs postcloacal with the second or third pair double) and the presence of a particular midventral precloacal papilla. Specimens originally identified as Contracaecum paralichthydis Yamaguti, 1941 [now H. paralichthydis (Yamaguti, 1941)] by Xü (1957), collected from the yellow striped flounder Pseudopleuronectes herzensteini (Jordan & Snyder) (Pleuronectiformes: Pleuronectidae) in the Yellow Sea off China, were also re-examined. Their morphology clearly revealed they belong to H. aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802), which is also redescribed based on Xü’s material. In addition, the morphological variation of caudal papillae in H. aduncum from P. herzensteini was compared, using scanning electron microscopy, with specimens collected from another three fish hosts, Lophius litulon (Jordan) (Lophiiformes: Lophiidae), Scomberomorus niphonius (Cuvier) (Perciformes: Scombridae) and Cleisthenes herzensteini (Schmidt) (Pleuronectiformes: Pleuronectidae), from the Yellow Sea off China.     

Pachyseris inattesa sp. n. (Cnidaria,Anthozoa, Scleractinia): a new reef coral species from the Red Sea and its phylogenetic relationships

A new scleractinian coral species, Pachyseris inattesa sp. n., is described from the Red Sea. Despite a superficial resemblance with some species in the agariciid genus Leptoseris with which it has been previously confused, P. inattesa sp. n. has micro-morphological characters typical of the genus Pachyseris. This genus, once part of the Agariciidae, is comprised of five extant species and is widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. It is currently incertae sedis as a result of recent molecular analysis and appears to be closely related to the Euphylliidae. A molecular phylogenetic reconstruction including P. inattesa sp. n., the genus type species P. rugosa, and P. speciosa, all present in the Red Sea, was performed using the mitochondrial intergenic spacer between COI and 16S-rRNA. The results confirm that P. inattesa sp. n. is a monophyletic lineage closely related to the other Pachyseris species examined.     

Genetic diversity and population structure of the gizzard shad,Konosirus punctatus (Clupeidae,Pisces), in Korean waters based on mitochondrial DNA control region sequences

In this study, we clarified the population structure of the gizzard shad, Konosirus punctatus, in Korean waters. We analyzed 896 base pairs of the mitochondrial DNA control region in 182 individuals, which were sampled from eight localities between the East Sea and the Yellow Sea. The haplotype diversity (h) was very high (0.9662–1.0000) but the nucleotide diversity (π) was very low (0.0061–0.0434). A neighbor-joining tree showed that the population clustered into two reciprocal monophyletic groups, lineages A and B. Lineage A is distributed on all coasts of Korea, from the Yellow Sea to the East Sea, declining to the east, whereas lineage B is distributed in the East Sea and Korea Strait, disappearing completely from middle Korea Strait to the west. Analysis of molecular variance showed strong structuring (F _ST = 0.856; P < 0.0001) between the two lineages. Neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analyses showed that a recent rapid expansion event occurred only in lineage A. Our results suggest that the management unit of the Korean gizzard shad may be divided in two, lineage A and lineage B.     

Molecular evidence of cryptic diversity in Paracaryophyllaeus (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea), parasites of loaches (Cobitidae) in Eurasia,including description of P. vladkae n. sp.

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of an extensive collection of monozoic tapeworms of the genus Paracaryophyllaeus Kulakovskaya, 1961 (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea), parasites of loaches (Cypriniformes: Cobitidae) in Eurasia, has revealed cryptic species diversity within this long-time monotypic genus, especially in the Paracaryophyllaeus gotoi (Motomura, 1927) species complex [syn. Paracaryophyllaeus dubininorum (Kulakovskaya, 1961); type species]. Three independent, well-supported clades were discovered on the basis of molecular data: (i) specimens from Misgurnus anguillicaudatus and Cobitis lutheri from China, Russian Far East and Japan — called herein P. cf. gotoi 1, which may be conspecific with P. gotoi (Motomura, 1927), although in the absence of sequence data for P. gotoi from its type locality (basin of the River Kumkan in Korea), no certain inferences about their identity can currently be made; (ii) specimens from M. anguillicaudatus from China and Japan — P. cf. gotoi 2, which are morphologically indistinguishable from those of P. cf. gotoi 1; and (iii) morphologically distinct tapeworms from the endemic loach Cobitis bilseli from southwestern Turkey (Beyşehir Lake), which are described herein as a new species. Paracaryophyllaeus vladkae Scholz, Oros and Aydoğdu n. sp. differs from the remaining species of the genus in the following characteristics: the testes begin anterior to the first vitelline follicles (versus posterior), the body is short and robust (versus more elongate and slender), and the scolex is wide, rounded or apically tapered (versus claviform to truncate). Species composition of the genus, host specificity of species and geographical distribution are briefly discussed.     

Staphylorchis cymatodes (Gorgoderidae: Anaporrhutinae) from carcharhiniform, orectolobiform and myliobatiform elasmobranchs of Australasia: Low host specificity, wide distribution and morphological plasticity

Anaporrhutine gorgoderids (Digenea: Gorgoderidae: Anaporrhutinae) found in the body cavity of six species of elasmobranchs from the orders Carcharhiniformes, Myliobatiformes and Orectolobiformes from Australian waters were found to belong to the genus Staphylorchis. Although these specimens were morphologically variable, sequences of ITS2 and 28S ribosomal DNA from specimens from three host families and two host orders were identical. Based on morphological and molecular data these specimens were identified as the type-species of the genus, Staphylorchis cymatodes. New measurements are provided for S. cymatodes, and for the first time genetic data are presented for this species. In addition to providing new morphological and molecular data for S. cymatodes, the previously described species S. gigas, S. parisi and S. scoliodonii, are here synonymised with S. cymatodes. This implies that S. cymatodes, as conceived here, has remarkably low host-specificity, being recorded from eight elasmobranch species from four families and three orders, has a wide geographical distribution in the Indo-west Pacific from off India, in the Bay of Bengal, to Moreton Bay in the Coral Sea, and is morphologically plastic, with body size, size of specific organs and body shape differing dramatically between specimens from different host species. The genus Staphylorchis now contains only two valid species, S. cymatodes and S. pacifica.     

Mitochondrial control region variability of baiji and the Yangtze finless porpoises,two sympatric small cetaceans in the Yangtze river

BaijiLipotes vexillifer (Miller, 1918) and the Yangtze finless porpoiseNeophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis (Pilleri and Gihr, 1972) are two sympatric small cetaceans inhabiting the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In this study, a fragment (420–428 bp) of the mitochondrial control region was sequenced to provide the first comparative survey of genetic variability and population structure in these two endangered species, with samples of finless porpoises from the Yellow/Bohai Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea also included. Low values of haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were found for both species, especially for the baiji and the Yangtze River and South China Sea populations of finless porpoises. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) supported a high level of overall genetic structure among three porpoise populations in Chinese waters, with greatest differences found between either the Yangtze River population or the Yellow Sea population and the South China Sea population. The differentiation between the Yangtze and Yellow Sea populations was not significant, and the males have higher genetic differentiation than the females, suggesting a significant female-biased dispersal between these two populations. This study showed that the Yangtze finless porpoise, unlike the sympatric baiji, was not a genetically isolated population. The Yangtze and Yellow Sea porpoises should be included in the same management unit, but further studies using more samples and especially based on more molecular markers are urgently needed to confirm this.     

Choice behaviour of Myrmica rubra workers between ant larvae and larvae of their Phengaris (Maculinea) nausithous nest parasites

Larvae of Phengaris (Maculinea) butterflies are adopted by Myrmica workers and are obligate myrmecophiles. Brood recognition by Myrmica rubra workers was tested for concolonial larvae (M. rubra) versus allocolonial larvae (M. rubra and P. nausithous) to assay the mimetic efficiency of P. nausithous. In addition, we tested M. rubra ant colonies from different populations with and without the presence of Phengaris, to test for potential local adaptation in adoption behaviour. We show that M. rubra can distinguish between nest-mate and foreign larvae as well as between P. nausithous and their own larvae. Workers from the allopatric population inspected and rejected more P. nausithous larvae than workers from the sympatric population. This might reflect a local host adaptation in which the social parasite more efficiently mimes its sympatric host ants than allopatric ones.     

First record of the decapod-egg predator Ovicides paralithodis (Nemertea,Carcinonemertidae) from the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio (Decapoda,Brachyura)

The carcinonemertid monostiliferan Ovicides paralithodis Kajihara and Kuris, 2013 was originally described as an egg predator of the red-king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815) in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska. In the present study, several carcinonemertid specimens were obtained from the egg mass of the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricius, 1788) in the Sea of Japan. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) determined from two specimens of the carcinonemertid were identical with a barcode sequence from the holotype of O. paralithodis, indicating that the host range of the species covers at least the two decapod species, P. camtschaticus and C. opilio.     

Morphology,toxicity, and phylogeny of Alexandrium (Dinophyceae) species along the coast of China

The toxigenic genus Alexandrium includes ∼30 species, but information about its biogeography at a regional scale is limited. In this study, we explored the diversity of Alexandrium along the coast of China by incubating resting cysts collected from 7 sites. A total of 231 strains of Alexandrium belonging to 7 morphospecies were found. Among them, Alexandrium andersonii, Alexandrium fraterculum, Alexandrium leei, Alexandrium pseudogonyaulax, and Alexandrium tamutum were recorded from the China Sea for the first time. Partial large subunit (LSU) and/or internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1, ITS2, and 5.8S rDNA) sequences revealed two ribotypes of Alexandrium andersonii, Alexandrium leei, and Alexandrium tamarense: Atama complex Group I and IV. Atama complex Group I was exclusively distributed in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, whereas Group IV was restricted to the East China Sea and South China Sea. Atama complex Group I produced mainly N-sulfocarbamoyl toxins (C1/C2, 61–79% of total toxins) and gonyautoxins (GTX1/4, 17–37%). Alexandrium ostenfeldii strain ASBH01 produced NEO and STX exclusively (65% and 35%, respectively). Our results support the premise that Atama complex Group I is endemic to the Asian Pacific and includes cold water species, whereas Atama complex Group IV tends to inhabit warmer waters.     

Molecular Phylogeny and Taxonomy of Two Novel Brackish Water Hypotrich Ciliates,with the Establishment of a New Genus,Antiokeronopsis gen. n. (Ciliophora,Hypotrichia)

Two novel brackish water urostyloid ciliates, Anteholosticha paramanca sp. n. and Antiokeronopsis flava gen. n., sp. n., isolated from the Shenzhen Mangrove Nature Protection Area on the coast of the South China Sea, were investigated using live observation and protargol impregnation techniques. Anteholosticha paramanca sp. n. is characterized by its spherical yellowish cortical granules arranged in lines, shortened midventral complex and three transverse cirri. Morphogenesis is similar to that in Anteholosticha manca. The new genus Antiokeronopsis is diagnosed by having a continuous adoral zone of membranelles, frontal cirri arranged in a bicorona, midventral complex composed of midventral pairs only, one marginal cirral row on each side, the presence of frontoterminal and transverse cirri, and the lack of buccal and caudal cirri. The type species A. flava sp. n. is characterized by its elongated body shape, brown to yellowish body color and two types of cortical granules. Small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequence data justify the classification of both species. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that A. paramanca clusters with Bakuella subtropica within a clade that includes two other Anteholosticha species, while Antiokeronopsis groups within the core urostylids and is most closely related to the well‐known genera Pseudokeronopsis and Uroleptopsis.     

Geographic variations of the mottled skate,Beringraja pulchra (Liu, 1932) (Rajidae) in the Yellow and East seas based on molecular and morphometric data

In order to prove the fisheries‐related hypothesis of the presence of two local populations of the mottled skate, Beringraja pulchra in the Yellow Sea (Sensu Jo et al., 2011 ), the geographic variations of 90 individuals (in molecule) and 129 individuals (in morphology) were investigated. The skates were collected from the middle Yellow Sea (Daechungdo), southern Yellow Sea (Heuksando), and the middle East Sea (Ulleungdo) using gill nets, bottom trawls and longlines. Comparing 471 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtDNA COI) sequences, only three haplotypes (BR1–BR3) were found. The Daechungdo and Heuksando individuals displayed all three haplotypes, whereas the Ulleungdo individuals displayed a single haplotype (BR3). Pairwise fixation indices (FST) showed that the Daechungdo and Heuksando individuals were not genetically distinguishable (with a value of ?0.0344), whereas the Ulleungdo individuals were clearly distinct from both the Daechungdo and Heuksando individuals (with values of 0.6875 and 0.6871, respectively). Similar to the molecular result, a canonical discriminant analysis based on seven morphometric characters showed that the Ulleungdo individuals had positive values on the first axis, whereas those from the other two locations had negative values, slightly differentiating the two populations (East Sea population vs Yellow Sea population). This study is the first to identify two populations of mottled skate in the northwest Pacific.     

The red-fin Decapterus group (Perciformes: Carangidae) with the description of a new species, Decapterus smithvanizi

The carangid genus Decapterus can be defined by having a single finlet behind both the second dorsal and anal fins, and lacking scutes on the anterior curved part of the lateral line. We revised taxonomically the species of Decapterus with red-colored caudal fins (the red-fin Decapterus group) and established that the group consisted of the following four species: Decapterus akaadsi Abe 1958, distributed in the eastern Indian Ocean and West Pacific from the Andaman Sea to Indonesia, north to central Japan; Decapterus kurroides Bleeker 1855, distributed in the Indo-West Pacific from the Red Sea and eastern coast of Africa to eastern Australia, north to the Philippines; Decapterus smithvanizi sp. nov., occurring in the Andaman Sea, the South China Sea, and Indonesia; and Decapterus tabl Berry 1968, distributed circumglobally in tropical and subtropical seas. The diagnostic characters of these species are as follows: D. akaadsi—curved part of lateral line with 43–53 cycloid scales, straight part of lateral line with 26–29 scutes, head length 26.7–30.1 % SL, and body depth 24.0–27.9 % SL; D. kurroides—curved part of lateral line with 45–51 cycloid scales, straight part of lateral line with 30–32 scutes, head length 30.3–33.0 % SL, and body depth 23.4–26.4 % SL; D. smithvanizi—lower gill rakers 25–31, curved part of lateral line with 54–62 cycloid scales, body depth 19.4–22.5 % SL, pectoral-fin tip usually beyond the level of second dorsal-fin origin; D. tabl—tip of upper jaw usually hooked and opercular membrane partly serrated in larger specimens, lower gill rakers 28–33, curved part of lateral line with 61–72 cycloid scales, body depth 16.6–23.0 % SL, pectoral-fin tip not reaching to the level of second dorsal-fin origin.     

Development of thirty-five novel polymorphic microsatellite markers in Pseudosciaena polyactis (Perciformes:Sciaenidae) and cross-species amplification in closely related species,Pseudosciaena crocea

Small yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena polyactis, is an economically important marine fishery species. In this study, we isolated 35 novel polymorphic microsatellite primers in P. polyactis by using the combined biotin capture method. The polymorphism of each locus was assessed in 30 individuals from Donggang, Northern Yellow Sea, China. A total of 519 alleles were detected and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 23. The PIC values of these 35 microsatellite loci ranged from 0.367 to 0.940. The observed (H_o) and expected heterozygosity (H_e) per locus ranged from 0.233 to 1.000 and from 0.438 to 0.943, respectively. Seven loci significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) after Bonferroni correction and no significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) was found between pairs of loci. In addition, cross-species amplification was performed in Pseudosciaena crocea, a closely related species of P. polyactis, to assess the applicability of these markers. These polymorphic microsatellites will provide useful tools for the study of genetic diversity and population structure of P. polyactis and P. crocea.     

Redescription of two little-known urostyloid ciliates,Anteholosticha randani () and A. antecirrata (Ciliophora,Urostylida)

The morphology of two little-known urostyloid ciliates, Anteholosticha randani (Grolière, 1975) Berger, 2003 and A. antecirrata Berger, 2006, collected from freshwater biotopes in southern China, was studied based on live observations and protargol staining. Anteholosticha randani is characterized by its bipartite adoral zone and short, longitudinally aligned undulating membranes. One early stage of reorganization/morphogenesis, one early-middle stage of reorganization and one middle stage of morphogenesis are also reported. Anteholosticha antecirrata is characterized by its large body size in vivo (200–400 × 40–80 μm), a row of buccal cirri and conspicuous, yellow-green cortical granules. Phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rDNA sequence data reveal that A. antecirrata may share a most recent common ancestor with Urostyla grandis and Bakuella granulifera, whereas A. randani branches independently and is sister to a large clade that includes Pseudourostyla, Pseudokeronopsis, Caudiholosticha and several species of Anteholosticha.     

Systematic revision and palaeobiogeography of Perisphinctes Waagen (Ammonoidea) from the Oxfordian of Kutch,India: Stratigraphic and evolutionary implications

Perisphinctes Waagen, 1869 is an important genus of the Oxfordian. In many areas the taxon has been excessively and subjectively split. Based on the material collected in Kutch (India), including the type specimens, we have grouped eight species previously described as distinct into one biological species, Perisphinctes indogermanus Waagen, 1875. It is characterized by strong sexual dimorphism. Macroconch shows high intraspecific variability. Microconch is previously described from Kutch in different generic names. Thirteen species of Dichotomosphinctes Buckman, 1926, Perisphinctes Waagen, 1869 and Lithacoceras Hyatt, 1900 are considered here as microconch which is lappeted. The precise age of P. indogermanus is disputed. A detailed stratigraphic analysis of several sections in this study suggests that the species ranges from early to middle Oxfordian. Perisphinctes indogermanus is distinct from other contemporary species of the world and abundant in the Indo-Madagascan Province. Kutch population of P. indogermanus has developed virgatotome style of ribbing in juvenile stage. During the middle Oxfordian marine transgression, the species along with many other ammonites of deeper habitat of the mainland basin reached the shallow shelf of eastern fringe of the Kutch Sea. Being peripherally isolated, it soon underwent an adaptive radiation that resulted in the origination of a new family Ataxioceratidae Buckman, 1921 whose members have neotenously retained the virgatotome ribbing in adult stage. The ataxioceratids later migrated to Europe and flourished during the Kimmeridgian.     

Significant genetic differentiation between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea populations of cocktail shrimp Trachypenaeus curvirostris revealed by the mitochondrial DNA COI gene

The cocktail shrimp Trachypenaeus curvirostris is an ecologically and economically important shrimp species in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. However, there is no information about its population genetic structure. The population genetic structure and level of gene flow of T. curvirostris from the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea were studied with a 658-bp segment of mtDNA COI gene. In total, 85 individuals were collected from five locations and 13 haplotypes were obtained. The genetic variation of COI gene in five populations was moderate, giving an overall haplotype diversity of 0.6888 ± 0.0432 and nucleotide diversity of 0.0069 ± 0.0038. Conflicting to our expectation, significant genetic differentiation was detected in this species. The result revealed two genetically divergent lineages, displaying clear different geographical distributions in the studied area. The significant genetic differentiation between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea populations might be caused by the Yangtze River outflow. Mismatch distribution revealed that T. curvirostris had undergone population range expansion, possibly before 103,400–109,700 years ago in the last interglaciation, rejecting the sudden demographic expansion.