A new genus and species of Epsilonematidae (Nematoda) from New Caledonia

Akanthepsilonema helleouetae gen. et sp.n. (Epsilonematidae) is described from supralittoral marine sediments in New Caledonia. Its main features are a heterogeneous cuticule with large horn-like dorsal spines and a field of copulatory horns in the male. The taxonomic position of the new genus within the family is discussed.     

The relation between habitus and habitat structure as evidenced by a new species of Glochinema (Nematoda, Epsilonematidae) from the plateau of the Great Meteor Seamount1

Glochinema kentrosaurides sp. n. is described from coarse biogenic sands on the plateau of the Great Meteor Seamount at 455 m depth. It is characterized by two rows of 12 long thorns between the caudal body enlargement and the tail base, by two bands of hair-like spines dorsally on the body enlargement, by a diverse waffle-like ornamentation of the cuticle, by a pair of small dorsal pharyngeal thorns, by five to six rows of ambulatory setae adding up to a total of 28 setae in the male and 24 in the female, and by a sexual dimorphism in the form of the amphids. It is the first record of Glochinematinae from the Atlantic, all others being known from the Pacific so far. The distinguishing features of all species of Glochinema Lorenzen, 1974 are summarized. The new species blurs the distinction between the genera Glochinema and Metaglochinema Gourbault & Decraemer, 1996. It is discussed that some of the salient external features may have less systematic importance than hitherto believed because of their variation in response to habitat structure.     

Two new genera and species of cystidicolids (Nematoda,Cystidicolidae) from marine fishes off New Caledonia

Two new nematode species of the family Cystidicolidae, each representing a new genus, were recovered from marine perciform fishes off New Caledonia, South Pacific: Ascarophisnema tridentatum n. gen., n. sp. from the stomach of the Japanese large-eye bream, Gymnocranius euanus (Günther) (Lethrinidae) and Metabronemoides mirabilis n. gen., n. sp. from the stomach of the painted sweetlip, Diagramma pictum (Thunberg) (Haemulidae). Ascarophisnema is characterized mainly by its cephalic structures (presence of two tooth-like projections on either side of the base of each pseudolabium, dorsal and ventral inner extensions of each pseudolabium recurved laterally in apical view, and submedian sublabia fused together dorsally and ventrally) and the presence of trident-like deirids, and Metabronemoides by its unique cephalic structures (presence of one dorsal and one ventral labium and four large dorsolateral and ventrolateral labia, and absence of sublabia). Rhabdochona gymnocranius (considered a species inquirenda) is provisionally transferred to the former genus as Ascarophisnema gymnocranius (Yamaguti, 1935) n. comb. To date, a total of seven species of cystidicolids are reported from marine fishes off New Caledonia.     

Epsilonematidae (Nematoda) from Chiloé (southern Chile), with descriptions of two new species

From a sandy beach in southern Chile (Quellón Viejo, Chiloé Island) five species of the nematode family Epsilonematidae are described or redescribed: Bathyepsilonema spongiosum sp.n., Epsilonema dentaturn Lorenzen, 1973, E. serrulatum Lorenzen, 1973, Metepsilonema chilotum sp.n. and M. leptaleum Lorenzen, 1973. In the studied beach Epsilonematidae represent up to 33% of the interstitial nematodes. Epsilonema dentaturn is the most common species; in most of the samples, it represents more than 50% of all Epsilonematidae found. The epsilonematids occur mainly in a narrow zone at the midtidal level.     

Epsilonematidae (Nematoda) from a cold-water coral environment in the Porcupine Seabight, with a discussion on the status of the genus Metaglochinema Gourbault & Decraemer, 1986

Thirteen species of nematodes from the family Epsilonematidae Steiner, 1927 were found to be associated with a cold-water coral reef in the Porcupine Seabight. Among them, four species were already known from various locations such as Chile and Papua New Guinea. Three new species are described here: Glochinema trispinatumsp. n. is recognized by three dorsal thorns in the pharyngeal region. This species was also recovered from the Antarctic shelf. Epsilonema multispiralumsp. n. is characterised by a multispiral amphid consisting of 3.25 coils. Bathyepsilonema lopheliaesp. n. is characterised by its body length, the position and relative width of the amphids and the nature of the cuticular ornamentation. Within the subfamily Glochinematinae Lorenzen, 1974, the number and arrangement of ambulatory setae is considered not to be of diagnostic importance. The former species Metaglochinema strigosumGourbault & Decraemer, 1993 is therefore classified under the genus GlochinemaLorenzen, 1974. The original genus diagnosis of Metaglochinema, now a monotypic genus, is adjusted. The geographic distribution of epsilonematid nematodes is briefly discussed.     

Leptepsilonema gen. n. (Nematoda, Epsilonematidae) from Chile and the Caribbean Sea

The new genus Leptepsilonema is erected. L. procerum sp.n from intertidal sandy beaches of the Caribbean sea and L. macrum sp.n. and L. exile sp.n. from Chile are described. Postembryonal development of L. procerum , covering the juvenile stages II-IV, is presented. Some ecological data are added.     

Four new species of the genus Perepsilonema Lorenzen, 1973 (Nematoda,Epsilonematidae) from the bay of Calvi (Corsica,Mediterranean)

Four new species of the genus Perepsilonema are described. They are characterized by general habitus, cuticular ornamentation, shape and sexual dimorphism of the amphideal fovea, shape and number of ventral copulatory spines and the shape of the spicules. The female genital system comprises two reflexed ovaries, a left and a right spermatheca and a median uterine chamber filled with sperm cells. The distal part of the uteri have secretory wall cells which contain in some specimen spherical refractive bodies.     

Three new species of Huffmanela Moravec, 1987 (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae) from the gills of marine fish off New Caledonia

Three new species of Huffmanela, here described from eggs only, are reported from the gills of marine fish caught off Nouméa, New Caledonia. Eggs of Huffmanela branchialis n. sp., from Nemipterus furcosus (Nemipteridae), are 45-52 (mean 48) microm in length and 23-30 (mean 25) microm in width, with thin shells. Each egg is enclosed in a thin membrane forming a spindle-shaped envelope 53-85 (mean 63) microm in length. Eggs of H. filamentosa n. sp., from Gymnocranius grandoculis (Lethrinidae), are 48-53 (mean 50) microm in length and 25-30 (mean 27) microm in width, with thin shells. Each egg bears a few long (150 microm), thin filaments. Eggs of these two new species were compared to those of H. paronai Moravec & Garibaldi, 2000, which are redescribed. Eggs of H. ossicola n. sp. were found within the branchial arch bone of Bodianus loxozonus (Labridae) and also filled the spinal chord bone and other bones. This is the first species of Huffmanela reported from bone tissue. Eggs are large, 72-88 (mean 79) microm in length and 32-40 (mean 36) microm in width, with a very thick shell. Each egg is covered with numerous filaments enclosed in a thin envelope. Fresh eggs were unembryonated, but embryos were visible after incubation in seawater. The three new species can be distinguished from other species of Huffmanela by size and the nature of the egg covering. Egg morphology of and their location in the host suggest different life-cycles: those of the first two species (small eggs, thin shells, egg covering possibly favouring flotation) are released from the gill mucosa with the turnover of living tissues and immediately continue their life-cycle, but eggs of H. ossicola (large eggs, thick shell) are only available for the continuation of the life-cycle after the host's death.     

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.     

Five new cryptic freshwater gastropod species from New Caledonia (Caenogastropoda,Truncatelloidea, Tateidae)

During the course of a project aiming at the reconstruction of the colonization of the South Pacific islands by tateid gastropods based on molecular data we discovered five new species on New Caledonia belonging to the genera Hemistomia and Leiorhagium, respectively. We describe these species based on morphological, anatomical and genetic data. All five species are morphologically cryptic as they closely resemble or are even indistinguishable from known species stressing the importance of a comprehensive taxonomic approach integrating several methods. As a consequence of their small and fragmented geographic ranges and the rapidly progressing anthropogenic land cover changes on New Caledonia, all five species qualify as critically endangered according to the criteria of the IUCN.     

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.     

Two new species of Longidoridae (Nematoda) from New Zealand forests

Xiphinema waimungui n. sp. from native forest in the North Island, New Zealand, is distinguished from many Xiphinema spp. by having two equal female genital branches, Z differentiation absent and tail short, convex-conoid. Females are 2.71–3.19 mm long, odontostyle 117–130 µm and odontophore 65–75 µm. Four juvenile stages are distinguished; tail shape does not vary markedly. Males were not found. Longidorus waikouaitii n. sp. from a native forest remnant in the South Island, New Zealand, has a rather posteriorly positioned guide-ring, large female body size (>6 mm), a bluntly conoid lip region which is continuous with the body contour and a bluntly rounded tail less than an anal body width long. No males and few juveniles were found. A dichotomous key is provided to the seven species of longidorids currently known from New Zealand.     

A new genus and nine new species of Eugnomini (Coleoptera,Curculionidae) from New Caledonia

The genus Rasilinus gen. n. is described (type species Rasilinus tchambicus sp. n.). Nine new species: Rasilinus bicolor sp. n., Rasilinus bifurcatus sp. n., Rasilinus bimaculatus sp. n., Rasilinus grandidens sp. n., Rasilinus longulus sp. n., Rasilinus subgemellus sp. n., Rasilinus subnodulus sp. n., Rasilinus tchambicus sp. n., Rasilinus virgatus sp. n. are described from New Caledonia. Illustrations of the external morphology, male and female terminalia, dorsal habitus colour photographs of the adults, key to species and distribution map of the new genus Rasilinus are provided.     

Cryptic species,gene recombination and hybridization in the genus Spiraeanthemum (Cunoniaceae) from New Caledonia

The Oceanian plant genus Spiraeanthemum (Cunoniaceae) has a centre of diversity in New Caledonia, where it is represented by seven species. Its diversification was investigated using two low‐copy nuclear genes, ncpGS and GapC, and phylogenetic analyses were based on maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and recombination networks. We detected several cases of gene recombination in both datasets, and these have obscured the history within the genus. For S. ellipticum and S. pubescens, accessions from southern populations on ultramafic soils were genetically distinct from accessions from northern populations on non‐ultramafic soils. Given that no obvious morphological characters distinguish northern and southern populations in either taxon, both may be considered as examples of cryptic species. Incongruence between gene trees and species' delimitation may be explained by the parallel evolution of similar morphology, differential lineage sorting leading to differential fixation of alleles or different introgression patterns in the north and south leading to allele displacement. In New Caledonia, some species with broad ecological preferences may thus be artificial concepts. This suggests that they should be treated more critically in monographs and that the species' richness of the New Caledonian flora may be underestimated. Problems associated with the typification of S. ellipticum and evidence of hybridization events in the history of Spiraeanthemum are also discussed. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 161 , 137–152.     

Deontostoma species from subantarctic coasts (Nematoda,Leptosomatidae)

The major cyanobacteria in Crawford Lake are benthic mat forming Lyngbya and Oscillatoria and not phytoplankton. The eutrophication of the lake has resulted in a decline in the mat forming cyanobacteria as inferred from palaeopigment analyses of the core from this lake. In previous palaeolimnological studies the concentrations of oxillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll have been used as correlates with lake trophic levels. High concentration of oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll were interpreted as indicating eutrophic conditions prevailed. Our results indicated that when Crawford Lake was most eutrophic little oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll was produced. High values of ¹³C at the depth of 34–48 cm (1500–1760 A. D.) were related to a dense population of benthic Oscillatoria and Lyngbya living on the bottom of the lake during that period. The Oscillatoria and Lyngbya utilize bicarbonate as a source of inorganic carbon. Carbonate has a high ¹³C value. Very low ¹³C values were found at 0–7 cm (1955–1992 A. D.) in the Crawford sediment core at the time when phyto- plankton dominated the core. Phytoplankton are enriched in ¹²C by photosynthetic assimilation of CO₂.     

New Eustomias Species (Melanostomiidae) from New Caledonia

Journal of Ichthyology - From the Coral Sea, Eustomias natalisa sp. n. species was described, which belongs to the Dinematochirus subgenus and is closest to E. paxtoni. It differs from all species...     

Two New Species of Epsilonema from South Indopacific (Nemata,Epsilonematidae)

Two new species of Epsilonema are described from coral sand from Polynesia and New Caledonia. Epsilonema exoticum, with ca. 131 annules, is characterized by heterogeneous vacuolar ornamentation, small amphid, and male with small field of tiny copulatory thorns. Epsilonema enigmaticum, with ca. 168 annules and small vacuoles and ridges on the cuticle, differs from all other species of the genus by the number (10-16) of subcephalic setae.     

Pseudofoenus caledonicus, a new species of hyptiogastrine wasp (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae) from New Caledonia

Abstract  Pseudofoenus caledonicus sp. nov. is described from New Caledonia, and is the second member of the Hyptiogastrinae recorded from these islands. This discovery points to a more diverse fauna of Hyptiogastrinae in the south-west Pacific, which also includes P. ritae (Cheesman), from New Caledonia and Vanuatu, P. extraneus (Turner) from Fiji, and a number of species from New Guinea and New Zealand. Although a revised phylogenetic analysis does not resolve the relationships of P. caledonicus , neither the two New Caledonian species nor the south-west Pacific fauna in general are likely to be monophyletic. This fauna is discussed in terms of its relationships with Pseudofoenus spp. from mainland Australia, and possible mechanisms that have given rise to the current distribution of species.     

Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) bodiani n. sp. and Cucullanus hansoni Olsen, 1952 (Nematoda: Cucullanidae) from fishes off New Caledonia

Two species of cucullanid nematodes collected from the intestine of marine fishes off New Caledonia were studied with the use of light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM): Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) bodiani n. sp. from Bodianus perditio (Quoy & Gaimard) (Perciformes: Labridae), characterised mainly by the small size of the body (males and gravid females 2.26–3.13 mm and 2.46–3.32 mm long, respectively), the presence of very long spicules (1.53–1.66 mm in length), the remarkably large seminal vesicle and the arrangement of caudal papillae, is the second known species of Dichelyne Jägerskiöld, 1902 parasitising fishes of the Labridae and the second nominal species of this genus recorded from fishes in New Caledonian waters. Cucullanus hansoni Olsen, 1952, originally described from Hawaii, is now, after 67 years, again reported from its type-host, Sufflamen fraenatum (Latreille) (Tetraodontiformes: Balistidae), from off New Caledonia. The SEM examination of C. hansoni, used in this species for the first time, revealed some new morphological details, such as the presence of a median precloacal cuticular elevation or the shape of deirids and distal tips of spicules, as well as the exact location of caudal papillae and phasmids in the male. This is the seventh species of Cucullanus Müller, 1777 recorded from fishes off New Caledonia.