New and little-known genera of cheilostome Bryozoa from the New Zealand region

The diagnostic characters of the cavernicolous genus Spelaeoblatta Bolívar, 1897, previously known only from a female, are given based on the male of S. thamfaranga n. sp. from Thailand. Nocticola adebratti n. sp. from Sabah is described.     

A new Liparine fish from the Red Sea

Summary

The results of a two year study on avian haematozoa in Zambia identified some 29 parasite species including two new haemoproteids and one leucocytozoid. Haemoproteus and Leococytozoon were the most common genera observed. A taxonomic appraisal is given of small trypanosomes with a characteristic terminal kinetoplast and it is suggested that T. everetti, T. fiadeiroi and T. oenae may all be synonyms of T. lobivanelli. Haematozoa were considered to be responsible for the clinical condition of two sick birds. Histopathological studies on a small number of birds revealed schizonts in two birds only. Very few ectoparasites were found and most were considered to be of little significance as vectors.     

Studies on the cheilostome bryozoan fauna of the Aegean island of Chios

Summary

Collections of cheilostome Bryozoans from shallow water communities around Chios yielded 101 species. Of these, 15 are rare or little known species and eight are reported from the Mediterranean for the first time. Four new species are described.

The Bryozoan benthos of the eastern Mediterranean differs in several ways from that of the western basin. In particular, a high proportion of endemic species was noted, some of which are restricted to the eastern Mediterranean. Decreased proportions of Atlantic species may be explained either by the recent immigration of such species into the Mediterranean as a whole or by the existence of barriers to migration between the east and west basins of the sea. No firm evidence of the existence of Tethyan relics is found, but the occurrence of a number of species on the West African coast, in the Mediterranean and throughout the Indo-West-Pacific suggests very ancient distribution patterns.

Notes on relative abundance, and utilization of different substrata are included.     

A new Arietellidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) from the Red Sea

A new species of the calanoid copepod genus Paramisophria T. Scott, 1897 is described from the Egyptian sublittoral zone of the Red Sea. Paramisophria aegypti sp. nov. appears to be closely related to the species Paramisophria ammophila and Paramisophria platysoma. Paramisophria aegypti differs from P. ammophila in having two unequal lateral setae plus one long terminal process and two tiny equal lateral setae plus one long terminal process on the third exopodal segment on the male right and left fifth legs (vs three terminal processes increasing in size inward on both male fifth legs). Paramisophria aegypti can be distinguished from P. platysoma in the following characters: prosome symmetrical (vs extreme asymmetry); third exopod segment of the right leg completely separated from the second segment and bears two unequal lateral setae plus one long terminal process (vs partially fused to the second segment and bears four terminal processes increasing in size inward); third exopod segment of the left leg with two lateral setules and one long terminal process (vs two lateral setules, one short outer medial process and one long terminal process); endopodal lobes of the female legs 5 bear one long plumose seta (vs setae are lacking).http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C0A92BF9-2306-4A35-AA39-CE3B5865A396     

Aspects of mangal ecology along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia

Surveys of the mangal along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia form the basis of this study. Both soft-bottomed mangals and the less well known hard-bottomed mangals are represented. The distribution of Avicennia marina, the dominant mangrove species, is discontinuous in the northern part of the Red Sea. Its development increases southwards, and mean height is inversely correlated both with latitude (P<0·05) and salinity (P<0·05). Another species, Rhizophora mucronata, was recorded in only five areas. Molluscs and crabs represent the principal faunal elements within the mangal. The density of Cerithidea cingulata, the dominant mollusc species, shows significant correlation (P<0·01) with the abundance of blue-green algae. Four species of fiddler crab (Uca) are included among the crab fauna of the mangal, one of which (U. urvillei) is here newly recorded for the Red Sea. Evidence is given for suggesting that the mangal biota in the region sampled may not be distinctive. Rather, it consists of many species found not only within the mangal but also in other habitats such as seagrass beds and even rock beaches. It is suggested that the mangal of the Red Sea represents a composite habitat, containing both hard and soft substrates and inhabited by species typical of each. This contrasts with the situation in most other mangals studied.     

Bryozoa of the First Italian Antarctic Oceanographic Expedition (Terra Nova Bay,Ross Sea). I. Flustridae Smitt, 1867

An account is given of the species belonging to the bryozoan family Flustridae Smitt, 1867, collected during the First Italian Antarctic Oceanographic Expedition. A total of seven species pertaining to five genera have been determined: Carbasea curva (Kluge), Flustra angusta Kluge, Flustra tenuis Kluge, Austroflustra vulgaris (Kluge), Klugeflustra drygalskii (Kluge), Klugeflustra vanhoffeni (Kluge) and Nematoflustra flagellata (Waters).     

Arctic species of the cheilostome bryozoan Microporella,with a redescription of the type species

This investigation focuses on the diversity and taxonomy of species of Microporella found north of the Arctic Circle. Firstly, however, a neotype is chosen for the Mediterranean type species M. ciliata (Pallas) in order to stabilize the taxonomy of this “pseudocosmopolitan” species, which has been recorded in the past from the Arctic. Study of type and other material using scanning electron microscopy shows that only two Arctic species of Microporella can be recognized, M. arctica Norman and M. klugei sp. nov. The first of these is characterized by a large ascopore divided by thin radial septa and situated close to the proximal rim of the orifice. Microporella klugei sp. nov. differs in having a smaller, undivided ascopore situated in a more proximal position on the frontal shield. Both Arctic species are notable among Microporella species for having a high proportion of autozooids without associated avicularia.     

Notes on astogeny of some Petraliellidae (Bryozoa) from Australia

Members of the bryozoan family Petraliellidae share the capacity to develop basal rhizoids, which anchor the unilaminar, semi-repent parts of the colonies above the substratum, and enable them to overgrow other, competing sessile forms. Little is known of the larval behaviour and settlement, or the early astogeny of species. Ancestrulate colonies of the Australian Tertiary lunulitiform species Smittia biincisa are referred to the genus Riscodopa, and together with Riscodopa paucipora sp. nov. are described and compared with the Recent species R. cotyla and R. parva from New Zealand, and with R. hyalina sp. nov. from New South Wales, Australia. All the Recent species are known to develop basal rhizoids, and an early astogeny similar to that of many other small, rooted bryozoans, comprising the post-metamorphosis development of a binary complex, including rhizoid and feeding elements, is inferred for Riscodopa. Observations on living Hippopetraliella magna from Queensland suggest that both the ancestrular morphology and early astogeny show a capacity for semi-repent growth, even though they do not include rhizoid development. Larvae metamorphose without direct attachment, and the ancestrula develops elongated, partially calcified supporting processes, which raise the early stages of growth above the substratum. A similar kind of ancestrula has been found in preserved specimens of Mucropetraliella ellerii.     

New species of cheilostomate Bryozoa collected by the US Antarctic Research Program

Four new species of cheilostomate Bryozoa are described in the genera Chartella, Ogivalia, Melicerita and Cellarinella. The circumArctic genus Chartella is recorded for the first time from the subAntarctic. Alloeoflustra gen. nov. is introduced for three endemic Antarctic Flustridae.     

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.     

Red Sea Phyllidiidae (Mollusca,Nudibranchia), with descriptions of new species

All the known Red Sea nudibranchs of the family Phyllidiidae are described and their taxonomic positions discussed. The genus Fryeria Gray, 1853, is regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Phyllidia Cuvier, 1797, and Reyfria gen. nov. is introduced to describe those species differing from Phyllidia primarily in the position of the anus. Of 12 species described here from the Red Sea, four are new to science. Phyllidia arabica Ehrenberg, 1831, is distinguished from Phyllidia varicosa Lamarck, 1801, and Phyllidia sp. is described as the third species confused with this group. A subspecies of P. ocellata Cuvier, 1804, is described and illustrated, as are three new species: P. melanocera, P. monacha and P. multifaria.