Digging with ‘hands’: observations of food capture in the flying gurnard Dactylopterus volitans (Linnaeus, 1758)

ABSTRACT

Videofilms of a foraging flying gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans) were collected at Itaipu, Niterói, RJ, Brazil. Analysis revealed details of the use of anterior parts of the pectoral fins which act as digging ‘hands’ to access infaunal prey items that are subsequently captured by oral suction feeding. Each pectoral fin has two distinct sections articulated separately on the pectoral girdle. The digging ‘anterior pectoral fin’ mainly consists of segmented and flexible fin rays but has an anterior robust unsegmented ray that provides an edge to the ‘hand’, allowing penetration of the substratum. The huge ‘posterior pectoral fins’ are supported by unsegmented rays. Most digging episodes involved one ‘hand’ and consisted of 1–7 cycles of movement with frequencies 1.15–3.74 cycles s^?1. During a cycle, the ‘hand’ is moved forwards and medially above the substratum, then is twisted medially and simultaneously depressed so that the anterior unsegmented ray impacts and enters the substratum. The hand is then drawn backwards and laterally to disturb the substratum. To prevent upward pitching of the head during digging, the ‘posterior pectoral fins’ are both moved anteriorly and laterally to shift the centre of gravity forwards while the caudal and ?second dorsal fins continue to provide propulsive force.     

The affinities of European sand gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae)

The European ‘sand-goby’ genera, comprising the Atlantic-Mediterranean Pomatoschistus and Gobiusculus, Ponto-Caspian Knipowitschia and West Balkanian Economidichthys, are diagnosed, with special reference to patterns of infraorbital neuromast organs (sensory papillae). A survey of selected meristic features indicates synapomorphies in increased number of abdominal and caudal vertebrae, and additional interneural spaces between first and second dorsal fin pterygiophores. Absence of a crest-like postmaxillary process on the premaxilla was found to be another derived feature after a survey of this bone throughout the Gobioidei. Affinity with other Atlantic-Mediterranean genera (Deltentosteus, Buenia, Lebetus and, probably, Speleogobius) is established from both morphological and isozyme criteria. Using head lateral-line and meristic characters, as well as occurrence of the premaxilla crest, a search for a sister group has led to the Indo-Pacific Nesogobius, a genus endemic to southern Australian seas, and probable wider relationship to North-western Pacific endemic gobiids.     

Meristic studies of the Gulf of California species of Merluccius,with a description of a new species

Two distinct species of hake are found in the Gulf of California, and in view of the commercial importance of at least one of these, a detailed taxonomical study was carried out. A new species of hake is described from the northern Gulf of California: Merluccius hernandezi. A new population of Merluccius angustimanus was located off the coast of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. A provisional examination of specimens from this population shows that it differs in important characteristics from the specimens described by Garman (1899) from Panama.

Merluccius hernandezi and M. angustimanus from Sinoloa are immediately separable by the shape of their caudal fin and the lengths of their pectoral fins: in M. hernandezi the caudal fin has a central lobe and in larger specimens it is truncate, while in M. angustimanus it is emarginate; the pectoral fin projects well beyond the anus in M. hernandezi but not in M. angustimanus.

A meristic index was devised which can be used successfully to distinguish between the two species in the field: only 4·13% of specimens studied would have been wrongly identified using this index.     

Synchiropus novaehiberniensis,a new species of dragonet from New Ireland,Papua New Guinea,western Pacific Ocean,with a review of subgenus Synchiropus (Neosynchiropus) and description of a new subgenus (Teleostei: Callionymidae)

A new species of dragonet, Synchiropus novaehiberniensis from off northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, is described on the basis of a male and a female specimen collected with a trawl in 74–92 m depth off Kavieng. The new species is characterized within the subgenus Synchiropus (Neosynchiropus) Nalbant, 1979 by a small branchial opening; head short (3.2–3.6 in SL); eye large (2.5–2.6 in head length); preopercular spine with a short, upcurved main tip, three curved points on its dorsal margin, ventral margin and base smooth; first dorsal fin higher than second dorsal fin, with four spines but no filaments, first spine longest; second dorsal fin distally slightly convex, with eight branched rays (last divided at base); anal fin with seven unbranched rays (last divided at base); 21–22 pectoral-fin rays; caudal fin elongate, distally rounded, slightly asymmetrical (upper rays shorter than lower rays); thorax, lower opercle and pelvic-fin base with small ocelli; back in male with four dark brown saddles; anal fin dark grey. The subgenus Synchiropus (Neosynchiropus) is reviewed and distinguished from Synchiropus (Acommissura) subgen. nov. An updated checklist of the species in the two subgenera is provided; the new species is compared with allied species. Revised keys to callionymid fish species of New Guinea, as well as of the subgenera Synchiropus (Neosynchiropus) and Synchiropus (Acommissura) subgen. nov. are presented.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AACA51E1-FBD6-412D-B09A-78540E7089B4     

Historical review and redescription of three poorly known species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus from south-eastern Brazil (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae)

ABSTRACT

This study is primarily directed to the most poorly known species of the genus Trichomycterus, comprising five nominal species (T. florensis, T. immaculatus, T. nigricans, T. paquequerensis and T. santaeritae) endemic to south-eastern Brazil. One of them, T. nigricans, is the type species of the genus, involved in taxonomic problems for over 150 years. A detailed historical review, accompanied by examination of type specimens and recent collections, revealed that the correct type locality of T. nigricans is in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, not Santa Catarina as commonly appears in the literature; specimens previously misidentified as T. nigricans from Santa Catarina belong to a possibly undescribed species of the genus Cambeva; T. paquequerensis is a synonym of T. immaculatus, and T. florensis is a synonym of T. santaeritae; and the hypothesis that T. santaeritae is closely related to the Amazon Sarcoglanidinae is refuted. The three valid species are redescribed. These species are members of a clade also including T. caipora that is highly supported by molecular data, diagnosed by a pronounced posterior maxillary process and caudal fin emarginate at least in larger specimens. A subclade comprising T. caipora, T. nigricans and T. santaeritae is diagnosed by a long maxilla and a bifid anterior extremity of hypobranchial 3.     

A new genus and species of bythitid fish (Teleostei: Ophidiiformes) from New Zealand

Brosmodorsalis persicinus n. gen., n. sp. is described from specimens collected from shallow coastal rocky reefs of northern New Zealand. Brosmodorsalis is placed in the bythitid fish subfamily Brosmophycinae because it has the caudal fin separate from the dorsal and anal fins. The genus differs from all others within the subfamily by the origin of the dorsal fin being well in advance of the posterior margin of the operculum and the anterior dorsal fin rays being free of membrane.     

A new species of Nebalia (Crustacea,Leptostraca) from Unguja Island (Zanzibar), Tanzania,East Africa,with a phylogenetic analysis of leptostracan genera

Nebalia brucei sp. nov. is described from specimens taken in traps from Unguja Island (Zanzibar), Tanzania, East Africa. The species is characterized by the following unique combination of characters: a short and broad rostrum; a carapace that is large compared to overall body size and that covers pleonite 4; a basally narrow compound eye; and acutely pointed denticles at the dorsal margin of pleon segments 6 and 7. Cladistic analyses of the relationships of the seven recognized leptostracan genera resulted in two hypotheses. One tree has Nebaliopsis as sister group to the remaining leptostracans and supports the monophyly of Nebaliidae. The other tree has Paranebalia as sister group to the remaining leptostracans and Nebaliidae as paraphyletic with respect to Nebaliopsis. Both trees contain a Nebalia/Dahlella/Sarsinebalia clade.     

The first Hapalotremus Simon, 1903 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Argentina: description and natural history of Hapalotremus martinorum sp. nov.

A new species of Hapalotremus Simon, 1903 from northern Argentina is described and illustrated. Hapalotremus martinorum sp. nov. differs from all other congeners by the colour pattern of live specimens. Males differ in the male palpal bulb morphology, with thickened and less curved embolus having a blunt subapical keel and less-developed apical keel. Females differ in the shape of the spermathecae, with the lateral bases more pronounced than the superiors and the upper edge more rounded. Specimens were captured inhabiting short burrows or crevices under stones in high cloud forests. Hapalotremus cyclothorax (Mello-Leitão 1923) is a junior synonym of Homoeomma montanum (Mello-Leitão, 1923), Hapalotremus scintillans (Mello-Leitão 1929) is a junior synonym of Pachistopelma rufonigrum Pocock, 1901, Hapalotremus exilis (Mello-Leitão 1923) and Hapalotremus muticus (Mello-Leitão 1923) are considered species inquirenda.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1758F6FD-8883-445D-A757-0AC7E120DCF6     

A new genus of viviparous gyrodactylid (Monogenea) from the Great Barrier Reef,Australia with descriptions of seven new species

Acanthoplacatus gen. nov., a new genus of viviparous gyrodactylid, is described from the fins and skin of siganid fishes from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The genus is characterized by a muscular, tube-like haptor with 16 marginal hooks on the posterior margin. The ventral lobe of the haptor is located anteriorly relative to the dorsal lobe and contains a pair of hamuli and a ventral bar with posteriorly-projecting ventral bar membrane. A dorsal bar is absent. Five pairs of posterior gland cells surround the posterior terminations of the gut. The male copulatory organ is a muscular, non-eversible bulb with several spines around the distal opening. Species of Acanthoplacatus have a bilateral excretory system consisting of six pairs of flame cells and a pair of excretory bladders. Seven new species are described: Acanthoplacatus adlardi sp. nov. and A. amplihamus sp. nov. from Siganus punctatus (Forster, 1801), A. brauni sp. nov. from S. corallinus (Valenciennes, 1835), A. parvihamus sp. nov. from S. vulpinus (Schlegel and Mueller, 1845), A. puelli sp. nov. from S. puellus Schlegel, 1852, A. shieldsi sp. nov. from S. lineatus (Valenciennes, 1835) and A. sigani sp. nov. from S. fuscescens (Houttuyn, 1782). Species can be discriminated by shape and size of the hamuli, marginal hooks and ventral bar and by male copulatory organ sclerite morphology. Three species (A. brauni sp. nov., A. shieldsi sp. nov. and A. sigani sp. nov.) were assessed for seasonal variation of sclerite size. Ten of thirteen morphological characters showed seasonal variation in size for at least one of the species. The characters were longer in winter except dorsal root tissue cap width. Only one character, marginal hook length, showed significant seasonal variation for all three species. Species of Acanthoplacatus were observed to attach using only the marginal hooks and the role of hamuli in attachment is unclear. The dorsal fin of the host is the preferred site for most species but the anal fin, caudal fin and body surfaces are preferred by some species. Prevalences for species range from 57 to 100%.     

Diplogrammus (Climcacogrammus) pygmaeus sp. nov., a new callionymid fish (Pisces,Perciformes, Callionymoidei) from the South Arabian Coast,Northwestern Indian Ocean

Summary

Diplogrammus (Climacogrammus) pygmaeus sp. nov. is described and compared with other species of the genus Diplogrammus. Features which distinguish it from the allied species are as follows: 1. (1)The combination of four spines in the first dorsal fin, eight rays in the second dorsal fin, and seven rays in the anal fin, with a preopercular spine formula of ;

2. (2)the unusually broad snout (seen from above);

3. (3)the anterior spines of the first dorsal fin in the male elongate but not filamentous;

4. (4)colour markings.

     

Apogon andhrae,a new species of apogonid fish from the Bay of Bengal

Summary

A new species of Apogon from Indo-West Pacific is described. A. andhrae sp. nov. can be distinguished from the closely related A. ellioti Day by the absence of the pigment band on the anal fin and of pigment spots on the dorsal side of head, and the presence of a narrow black edge to the caudal fin.     

Ciplakastacus gen. nov., a primitive genus of Leptastacidae (Copepoda,Harpacticoida) from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey

Both sexes of Ciplakastacus mersinensis gen. et sp. nov. (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Leptastacidae) are described in detail based on intertidal material collected from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey (Mersin Province). Plesiomorphic character states displayed by the antenna and P1–P2 indicate Ciplakastacus diverged before the crown group Leptastacidae diversified. The new genus is placed in a basal clade (currently encompassing Archileptastacus and Meloriastacus) defined by eight synapomorphies: (1) caudal ramus with strongly developed seta I flanked by two elongate spinules; (2) caudal ramus with posteriorly directed spinous outgrowth of outer distal corner; (3) caudal ramus seta III vestigial; (4) P5 exopod and baseoendopod forming single plate in both sexes; (5) P2–P4 exp‐3 with one outer spine; (6) dorsal posterior margin of anal somite bilaterally serrate; (7) rostrum triangular or bell‐shaped, and (8) sexually dimorphic ornamentation on the anal somite. Within this clade Ciplakastacus appears most closely related to Meloriastacus on account of the shared presence of the extremely elongate second antennulary segment, an allobasis on the antenna, the strongly reduced accessory seta on the maxillipedal endopod, the subcylindrical sternal process between the maxillipeds and P1, and paired laterodorsal, posteriorly directed, serrate extensions on the anal somite. Both genera can be distinguished from each other by P5 morphology (both sexes), armature of P4 enp‐2 and abdominal hyaline frill structure. The phylogenetic relationships between the basal taxa of the Leptastacidae are briefly outlined.     

On a new species of the family Callionymidae (Pisces,Perciformes, Callionymoidei), Callionymus stigmatopareius sp. nov. from Mozambique

Summary

Callionymus stigmatopareius sp. nov. is described and compared with allied species of the genus Callionymus. Features which distinguish it from similar species are as follows: 1. 1the combination of 8 rays in the 2nd dorsal fin and 7 rays in the anal fin with preopercular spine formula ;

2. 2unusually long anal fin rays;

3. 3colour markings.

     

The rare fish Neophrynichthys marmoratus Regan 1913, in the southern slope of Chile (Teleostomi,Psychrolutidae)

Summary

Two captures each of one and three specimens of Neophrynichthys marmoratus Regan 1913, off Chilean waters are reported. Both represent northward extensions of known geographical range. Observations were made in relation with colour pattern. The presence of sutured platelike hypurals on the terminal vertebral half centrum, and the presence of swimbladder are considered together with pectoral fin shape to suggest location of the species into the family Psychrolutidae of the order Acanthopterygii.     

Phylogenetic implications of ovipositor structure in Eucharitidae and Perilampidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

The external and cross-sectional morphology of the ovipositor was examined for 21 genera and 28 species of Philomidinae, Perilampidae and Eucharitidae. Eleven characters were scored and either mapped onto existing topologies reflecting the relationships of genera, or included in a larger data set focused on the generic relationships of Eucharitidae and analyzed using parsimony. The presence of a setiform flap in the ventral wall of the dorsal valve supported the monophyly of Perilampinae and possibly Chrysomalla (Chrysolampinae) + Perilampinae. Monophyly of Eucharitidae was supported by a thinning of the dorsal wall of the dorsal valve. One of two islands of most parsimonious trees that have recently been proposed was selected on the basis of fewer step changes as a result of both character mapping and parsimony analysis. Within Eucharitinae, this would support a clade that includes Kapala, Stilbula and Pseudochalcura, with Schizaspidia and Chalcura as its sister group. By mapping characters, an additional hypothesis of monophyly of Anorasema and Gollumiella was preferred, which on the basis of the pruned topologies was a single step shorter than the preferred islands of trees.     

New species of cave-dwelling beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae) from the Azores

The cave-dwelling beetles, Trechus pereirai, new species, and Trechus oromii, new species, and the epigean Trechus terrabravensis, new species, from the Azores islands are described. The male of the cave-dwelling beetle Trechus jorgensis Oromí and Borges is described for the first time. Affinities between Trechus species from the Azores and from other Macaronesian archipelagoes are discussed based on the morphology of the aedeagus. Ecological data are also included.

Nesta contribuição são descritos para os Açores os escaravelhos cavernícolas, Trechus pereirai, nova espécie, e Trechus oromii, nova espécie, e ainda o escaravelho epígeo Trechus terrabravensis, nova espécie. É feita pela primeira vez a descrição do macho da espécie cavernícola Trechus jorgensis Oromí & Borges. Com base na morfologia da genitália masculina são discutidas as afinidades com as outras espécies de Trechus dos Açores e outros arquipélagos Macaronésicos. Incluem-se ainda dados ecológicos.     

On taxonomy and hosts of Leptostylum Macquart, 1851 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Blondeliini), with description of a new species and a new host record

Tachinid flies are well known as being parasitoids of arthropods, mostly insects. Because of this, there is great economic interest in the biological control of pests using tachinids. Host records for Tachinidae, however, are still scarce, especially in the Neotropical region. A new species of the Neotropical genus Leptostylum Macquart was reared from Automeris naranja Schaus (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), a new host record, in Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil. Leptostylum oligothrix Gudin and Messas sp. nov. is herein described, including diagnosis and the first illustration of female terminalia for the genus. Additionally, illustrations and remarks on type material of Leptostylum deposited at Museu de Zoologia de São Paulo (MZSP) are made, a taxonomic catalogue of Leptostylum is provided, and a host record is detailed, including a host catalogue for the genus.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C54E5F46-B9D5-49CE-A0C9-D260F2896662     

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.