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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Cheilostomata (Bryozoa) from the South Atlantic

Two new genera Monitus gen.nov. and Cuckoldillo gen.nov., a new species of each of Scyphax, Rhyscotus, Filippinodillo, Merulana, Myrmecodillo, and three new species of Acanthodillo are described from Australia. The unavailability of the name Pseudodiploexochus and the confusion concerning the diagnoses of the genera Merulana Budde-Lund and Cubaris Brandt is noted. The synonomy of Merulana and Pyrgoniscus is discussed.     

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.     

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.     

Deep-water crisiids (Bryozoa: Cyclostomata) from the northeast Atlantic Ocean

Eight Crisia and two Bicrisia species are recorded from the Celtic Sea (330–1175 m, Thalassa, 1973) and from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar (110–903 m, Cryos, Balgim). Two new species are described: Crisia pyrula n. sp., and Bicrisia gibraltarensis n. sp. Systematics and morphology of five other species are detailed. A southern morphotype of C. aculeata is distinguished. Except for the boreal species B. abyssicola, all species occur both in Atlantic and Mediterranean localities. The upper bathyal crisiid fauna (>200 m) is richer in the Celtic Sea than in the Gibraltar area (6 spp. vs. 3 spp). Only three crisiids seem to be true deep-water species. The crisiid stock from stations located in the Gulf of Cadiz in Atlantic water is twice as rich as (1) that from stations of the same area washed by the Mediterranean water outflow; (2) that from the Alboran Sea.     

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).     

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.     

First described fossil representatives of the parasitoid wasp taxa Asaphesinae n. n. and Eunotinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae sensu lato) from Eocene Baltic amber

ABSTRACT

New Baltic amber species of Pteromalidae sensu lato are described, from two different subfamilies, Asaphesinae n. n. and Eunotinae. Asaphesinae is provided as a replacement name for Asaphinae Ashmead 1904, which is a junior homonym of the trilobite family Asaphidae Burmeister 1843. Coriotela lasallei gen. n., sp. n.. and Butiokeras costae gen. n., sp. n.. are described as the first known fossil species of Asaphesinae and Eunotinae, respectively. These species establish the minimum known age of both groups in the Eocene. Taxonomic changes are also proposed for some extant species. The genus Desantisiana Neder de Román syn. n.. is found to be a junior synonym of Notoglyptus, and its only described species is transferred as Notoglyptus jujuyensis (Neder de Román) comb. n.. The tribe Calyconotiscini, previously classified in Eunotinae, is abolished and Calyconotiscus Narendran & Saleem is transferred to Pireninae.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7A107FF9-28E7-40AA-8A9B-71321E476C07     

A redescription of the fossil coleoid cephalopod genus Palaeololigo Naef, 1921 (Decapodiformes: Palaeololiginidae) and its relationship to Recent squids

Neocoleoid cephalopods are poorly represented in the fossil record and fossils which can be confidently aligned with extant species are very scarce. The rare Solnhofen genus Palaeololigo is an exception to this, showing marked resemblance to Recent squids. Naef misinterpreted the structure of the fossilized gladius of Palaeololigo and the present study redescribes the genus. The gladius and fossilized fin impressions of Palaeololigo closely resemble that of the extant decapodiform squid genera Bathyteuthis and Chtenopteryx (Superfamily Bathyteuthoidea). The possible relationship between Palaeololigo and the bathyteuthoids and their position in decapodiform phylogenetics is discussed.