Recent and fossil Lunulitidae (Bryozoa,Cheilostomata) 6. Lunulites sensu lato and the genus Lunularia from Australasia

The characters of the genus Lunulites Lamarck, and of some closely related genera are described and discussed. The genus Lunularia Busk is reintroduced, and three species from Australasia are described. One species, L. parvicella, is known only as an Australian Tertiary fossil, but the remaining two, L. capulus and L. repandus, have an extensive Tertiary-to-Recent Australasian distribution. L. capulus is apparently confined to Australian waters and deposits, but L. repandus has now been found in the Miocene and Recent of New Zealand, as well as off the southern and western Australian coasts.     

Recent and fossil Lunulitidae (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) 5. Selenaria alata Tenison Woods,and related species

Five species of Lunulitidae are described, all of which have been assigned in the past to a variety of genera, such as Lunulites, Otionella and Selenaria. None of the species seems to be certainly referable to any one of these genera, but several of them appear to be closely related to one another. At present no attempt is made to define any new generic group, or groups, for these species which are known, almost exclusively, from the Australian Tertiary deposits. The exception is Selenaria alata, a species originally described from the Miocene of Victoria, which has now been found in recent collections from the Bass Strait. The information these Recent specimens provide on the musculature and mandibular structure of the distinctive avicularia has considerable significance in interpreting the morphology and function of purely fossil species with similar skeletal characters.     

Diversity and taxonomy of intertidal Bryozoa (Cheilostomata) at Akkeshi Bay,Hokkaido, Japan

We found 39 cheilostome species among more than 7000 specimens collected at 10 intertidal sites in rocky habitats along the shore of Akkeshi Bay, eastern Hokkaido Island, Japan. These species are herein described in detail and illustrated by scanning electron microscopy. Nine species (23% of total) are described as new (Electra asiatica, Callopora sarae, Conopeum nakanosum, Cauloramphus cryptoarmatus, Cauloramphus multispinosus, Cauloramphus niger, Stomachetosella decorata, Microporella luellae, and Celleporina minima), and 21 species (54%) are reported for the first time from Japan. Species richness ranged from eight to 29 species per study site. A TWINSPAN analysis showed the species fell into nine groups defined by the local pattern of distribution. A cluster analysis of study sites based on similarity of species composition showed three faunistic groups distributed geographically: in Akkeshi Lake, along the eastern‐central shore of the bay, and at the mouth of the bay. Species richness in estuarine Akkeshi Lake was low, with a species composition very different from the outer bay. Most cheilostomes were found on rock and shell substrata, but uncommonly occurred on concrete walls, algae, hydroids, tubes of polychaetes, other bryozoans, and anthropogenic debris. Of the 39 species found, 33 (85%) contained embryos during the collecting periods, 2–7 June and 3–6 July 2004. The biogeographical composition of intertidal cheilostomes at Akkeshi Bay included species with Arctic‐Boreal (28%), Boreal (59%), and Boreal‐Subtropical (13%) distributions. The overall species richness of intertidal cheilostomes was two‐thirds that documented intertidally in a comparable study at Kodiak, Alaska, a locality 15° higher in latitude. We attribute the lower richness at Akkeshi to differences in the nearshore marine environment between the two localities.     

Chaperiopsis cristata (Busk, 1884) (Bryozoa,Cheilostomata) is Chaperiopsis annulus (Manzoni, 1870). The occurrence of this species from the European Atlantic coast

We propose that Chaperiopsis annulus (Manzoni, 1870) is conspecific with C. cristata (Busk, 1884), and that C. annulus has priority. We also record this species for the first time from the European Atlantic coast.     

Recent and fossil species of Characodoma Maplestone, 1900 (Bryozoa) from the Mediterranean with description of two new species

Three species of Characodoma Maplestone, 1990 from the Mediterranean are discussed here. Two, C. rostratum and C. reclinatum are described as new from Pleistocene bathyal sediments of Southern Italy. The third, C. mamillatum (Seguenza, 1880) was already known from Tertiary-to-Quaternary sediments of Southern Italy. It has been recognized as the senior synonym of C. bifurcatum (Waters, 1918). Stratigraphical, geographical and ecological distributions of all the species are discussed. Morphological studies, principally of C. mamillatum, provide useful information about the life habit of these species.     

Recent and fossil Lunulitidae (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) 4. American and Australian species of Otionella

The nominal, free living lunulitiform genus Otionella has been found to include two major groups of species, each one with a distinctive periancestrular pattern of primary zooids. The first group occurs in the Eocene of North America and includes the type species, O. perforata, and several other forms. The second group occurs in the Late Eocene to Recent of Australasia, and may prove to be generically distinct. Intermediate forms, such as O. parvula from the Argentinian Tertiary, are discussed, and a diverse fauna of 10 species from Australia is described. Although some of these species, like O. cupola, O. exigua and O. nitida, have long been known from Australia. it has only recently been recognized that three New Zealand forms, O. squamosa, O. zelandica and O. proberti, also occur in the Tertiary and/or Recent of Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia. In addition, four species are considered to be new. These include O. australis, O. auricula and O. minuta, which are probably closely related to one another, and to O. zelandica. The fourth species, O. browni, has a unique periancestrular budding pattern which resembles that of fossil Lunulites more than any form of ‘Australasian Otionella’. Although, in many ways, O. browni could be assigned to Lunulites sensu lato, it is included here in Otionella.     

Amphiblestrum Gray, 1848 (Bryozoa Cheilostomatida) from the Atlantic-Mediterranean area,with description of a new species

Several species, belonging to the genus Amphiblestrum Gray from the Atlantic-Mediterranean area are discussed. One species is described as new: A. frigidum sp. n., from Lower Pleistocene sediments of the Mediterranean area and from the Recent Northern Atlantic. Systematic affinities among species are discussed together with geographical, ecological and stratigraphical distributions. The climatic-palaeoclimatic significance of some species is stressed: A. lyrulatum and the fossil A. spaeleus and A. intermedius seem to be warm-temperate species whereas all the others are cool, boreal or boreal-arctic species. A. flemingi and A. frigidum sp. n., both Recent Northern Atlantic species known from Würmian submerged sediments and/or Lower Pleistocene outcrops of the Mediterranean area are considered as Boreal Guests.     

Two new species of Phylactella (Bryozoa Cheilostomatida) from the Mediterranean area belonging to the P. labrosa (Busk) complex of species

Examination of fossil and Recent specimens from the Sicilian area belonging to the Phylactella labrosa ‘complex’ revealed two new species: P. mediterranea sp. nov., a Pleistocene-to-Recent taxon and P. megarensis sp. nov., from Pleistocene sediments from eastern Sicily. Ecological, geographical and stratigraphical distribution of both new species are discussed also in comparison with P. labrosa.     

New species of cheilostomate Bryozoa from Antarctica and the Subantarctic southwest Atlantic

Fourteen new species of Bryozoa Cheilostomatida are described in the genera Chaperiopsis, Dakariella, Plesiothoa, Celleporella, Galeopsis, Osthimosia, Reteporella, Rhynchozoon and Turritigera. Acanthophragma gen. nov. is introduced for A. polaris sp. nov., and Tracheloptyx gen. nov. for T. antarctica sp. nov.     

The species of Cellaria (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida) with large avicularia from West Africa

The three species of Cellaria with large avicularia (the size of an autozooid) known from West Africa have been studied: C. atlantida Cook, C. cookae n. sp. and C. salicornioides Lamouroux. All three are figured by SEM. Cellaria cookae n. sp. is mainly distinguished by its avicularium, with arched and pointed rostrum and mandible and a cryptocyst with a rectangular lyrula. Cellaria atlantida is characterised by its bell shaped Cellaria avicularium. The recognition of C. salicornioides var. normani is considered to be unjustified, as the distinctive character, which is the existence of lateral branching, is only a feature of young colonies and tends to disappear later.     

Membraniporoidea,Microporoidea and Cellarioidea (bryozoa,Cheilostomata) collected by Discovery Investigations

Thirty eight species of anascan Cheilostomata are described from the collections of Discovery Investigations, and other British antarctic expeditions. Ten new species are described, including Stomhypselosaria watersi introduced for Cellaria dubia (Busk) sensu Waters (1904). Two new genera are introduced, and Swanomia nom. nov. is proposed for Mawsonia Livingstone 1928, non Woodward 1907.     

A revision of Bovichtus Cuvier, 1831 (Pisces: Bovichthyidae) from Australasia,with description of a new deepwater species from the New Zealand Subantarctic

The genus Bovichtus includes four species from the Australasian region, viz. B. variegatus Richardson, B. psychrolutes Günther, B. angustifrons Regan, and B. oculus n. sp. B. decipiens Regan and Aurion effulgens Waite are junior synonyms of B. variegatus and B. psychrolutes respectively. B. oculus, described from a specimen taken in 847–902 m on the Campbell Plateau in the New Zealand Subantarctic, is the first known deep water Bovichtus species. It differs from all congeners in having a very large eye (horizontal diameter <9·0 times in SL) and, alone with B. psychrolutes, has a patch of ctenoid scales on the body behind the pectoral fin base.     

A revision of Caridina yunnanensis and its allied species (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae) from Yunnan,southern China,with description of one new species

The taxonomy of the Caridina yunnanensis and its allied species (Caridea: Atyidae) from Yunnan Province in southern China, is revised. A neotype for C. yunnanensis Yu, 1938, is designated. Additional information is provided on C. disparidentata Liang, Yan and Wang, 1984; C. dianchiensis Liang and Yan, 1985; C. mongziensis Liang, Yan and Wang, 1987; and C. disjuncta Cai and Liang, 1999. One new species, Caridina impensa, is described. A key to members of the species group is included.