New species and records of Flabellifera from the Indian Ocean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Isopoda)

In this study of flabelliferan Isopoda from the Indian Ocean, 19 species are described as new, in 11 genera and two families: family Cirolanidae, Baharilana koloura, B. lira, Cirolana aldabrensis, C. mimulus, C. somalia, C. undata, Eurydice paxilli, and Metacirolana chemola; family Sphaeromatidae, Cassidinidea clarkae, Cymodoce fuscina, C. lirella, Dynamenella alveolata, D. remex, Heterodina (new genus), H. mccaini, Oxinasphaera brucei, O. furcata, O. tetrodon, Paracilicaea stauros, and Sphaeromopsis sulcifera. Diagnoses of the genera and species are provided, and keys to the Indian Ocean species of most of the genera are provided. The material comes primarily from Aldabra Atoll, the granitic Seychelles islands, Zanzibar Island, and Phuket in Thailand. A few miscellaneous samples from the South African Museum collections, and from the International Indian Ocean Expedition carried out in the mid‐1960s are included.     

New and little‐known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea,Tunicata) from Australia (part 4)

Forty‐eight species (including nine that are new) of the 288 Didemnidae now known from Australian waters are reported on in the present work. Dredged material is from benthic habitats in inter‐reefal areas of the Great Barrier Reef and from deeper water canyons off northeastern and northwestern Tasmania. Collections from shallower waters of Port Davey (western Tasmania) and Kangaroo Island (South Australia) were hand‐collected by scuba divers. Seven of the eight known genera of the Didemnidae are represented. Despite this emphasis on sampling in temperate waters, only 14 species (all indigenous) are recorded from around the southern half of the continent. The species diversity of this family is greater in the tropics, with 34 species being recorded. Nearly half of these are known also from the tropical western Pacific and some from the Indian Ocean as well. Tropical indigenous species are relatively few.     

New species and records of anthuridean isopod crustaceans from the Indian Ocean

Twenty four new species of anthuridean isopods are described from a variety of localities in the Indian Ocean, including the granitic Seychelles, Aldabra Atoll, Phuket Island, the Persian Gulf and Zanzibar Island: Family Antheluridae, Anthomuda quadrilineata; Family Anthuridae, Amakusanthura cosmoledo, Apanthuroides aldabrae, Apanthuroides calculosa, Eisothistos andamanensis, Eisothistos corallina, Heptanthura phuket, Malacanthura arabica, Mesanthura quadrata, Panathura indica, Pendanthura picardi, Pendanthura seminigra, Pendanthura siamensis, Quantanthura andamanensis; Family Hyssuridae, Neohyssura gladia, Xenanthura victoriae; Family Paranthuridae, Accalathura hastata, Accalathura phuketensis, Accalathura wardae, Leptanthura calcis, Leptanthura maheensis, Paranthura algophila, Paranthura seychellensis, Paranthura urodentata. Of the 15 genera represented, all except two were previously known from the Indian Ocean; Heptanthura and Pendanthura are recorded from the Indian Ocean for the first time. Most of the genera have wide distributions through the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, while the species tend to be endemic to limited island or coastal regions. The 15 genera are diagnosed and keys or comparative tables to the Indian Ocean species are provided.     

Some benthic Tunicata from the southern Indo-Pacific Ocean

Forty one species of benthic Tunicata are recorded in the material collected from 87–5760m from the Coral Sea, Tasman Sea and the waters south of Australia and New Zealand, up to 65°S. Several species, recorded for the first time from the region, were previously known from the central and western Indian Ocean. Seven new species are described.     

The reef and soft-substrate coral fauna of Chagos,Indian Ocean

Summary

A series of collections of the coral fauna from a wide diversity of habitats in the Chagos Archipelago has resulted in nearly a doubling of the species known from the Central Indian Ocean. These are listed and Chagos is shown to be a very diverse part of the Indo-Pacific coral belt, but one lacking in several of the genera that have less widespread distributions such as those which could define a West Indian Ocean subprovince. The free and soft substrate species are poor in diversity, although several of these have an importance greater than their number suggests due to their ability to initiate and extend reefs over previously uncolonized substrate.     

On some Indian species of Aphelinidae,with a description of a new Coccophagus (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

Summary

The Philippine cruise of the U.S. Fisheries Steamer Albatross 1907–10 collected 61 species of spider crabs from the Philippine Islands bringing the total number of species known from the area to 71; 28 new species were described by Rathbun and the present report records 19 species not previously known from the area; included are nine widespread Indo-west Pacific forms, four previously known from Japan and four Indian Ocean species.

Hyastenus sebae White is renamed H. whitei and the former name is applied to H. oryx A. Milne Edwards. Hyastenus tuberculosus Rathbun is confirmed as a synonym of H. convexus Miers, Platymaia remifera Rathbun is reduced to synonomy with P. wyvillethomsoni Miers and Chorilia sphenocarcinoides Rathbun is transferred to the genus Sphenocarcinus.

The majority of species (51) occur around the central and southern islands of the archipelago and most of these (35 speciesl occur at varying depths on the continental shelf. Twelve species occur intertidally and 21 species are known from depths over 100 fms, some occurring as deep as 800 fms.

The spider crab fauna is clearly part of the Indo-west Pacific, 25 species being widespread ones; 26 species are shared with Japan, 24 with Australia and 31 with the Indian Ocean. However, 20 species appear to be confined to the Philippine Islands. The relationships of the Philippine fauna with that of the rest of Indonesia is not yet clear     

Biodiversity and biogeography of non-marine Mollusca on the islands of the Southern Ocean

There are no terrestrial and freshwater molluscs associated with Continental nor Maritime Antarctica. The malacofaunas of the cool-temperate and sub-Antarctic islands of the Southern Ocean are extremely depauperate, comprising a mere 68 site-records of 51 species from 27 genera in 13 families. The South Atlantic records are confined to the Falkland Islands, which harbour nine species (one bivalve, five pond snails and three terrestrial aliens), and South Georgia, where there is one Notodiscus sp. (Charopidae). The fauna of the South Indian Ocean islands of Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen and Heard, comprises two alien slugs and endemic Notodiscus hookeri (Charopidae). The majority of species occur on the South Pacific Ocean Islands of Macquarie, Campbell, Auckland, Snares, Antipodes, Bounty and Chatham to the south and east of New Zealand. The Chatham fauna is dissimilar to that on the other South Pacific Islands, though both represent vicariant remnants of common South Pacific Is./New Zealand Athoracophoridae, Charopidae and Punctidae. There is, other than the broad South Indian Ocean distribution of Notodiscus hookeri, little evidence of Holocene dispersal and colonization. Indeed the Southern Ocean is an effective barrier and the different regional (South Atlantic/Indian/Pacific) faunas are principally vicariant and derived from local survivors of Pleistocene glaciation.     

Corals and reefs of Cosmoledo and Aldabra atolls: Extent of damage,assemblage shifts and recovery following the severe mortality of 1998

An updated list of over 200 species of corals from Cosmoledo and Aldabra atolls is presented, which more than doubles previously known species diversity, and establishes these atolls as amongst the most species-rich in the Western Indian Ocean. However, partly this is an artefact of a new method of recording with digital cameras, described here, which greatly improves recording efficiency. This is the first underwater study of Cosmoledo, and the first for Aldabra outside the expedition reports cited. The survey extended to >30 m depth, and comes after the 1998 massive coral mortality. Coral cover was virtually eliminated at that time to about 8-10 m depth in Cosmoledo on seaward slopes, below which coral mortality was only about 50%. Mortality was selective regarding different species, genera and families. Cosmoledo's lagoon of >150 km² is shallower than the 'critical depth' of 8-10 m, resulting in an almost complete elimination of corals. To compare these atolls with other reefs in the region, critical depths are summarized for over 25 Indian Ocean locations. New coral recruits are abundant in the shallows of Cosmoledo and Aldabra 4 years later, though cover remains very low. Much bare rock remains (with turf algae) and some genera such as Acropora, previously apparently abundant, remain relatively very scarce. Apart from Porites, whose higher survival is now well documented, the best survivors from the 1998 mortality, and the most successful recruitment of new corals, are of faviids. Soft corals remain extremely scarce in all locations examined above the 'critical depth'. It is predicted that there may be a shift in the identity of the main species of corals in these atolls for many years.     

Taxonomic revision of Ascidiacea (Tunicata) from the upper continental slope off north-western Australia

A collection of ascidians from 100–1000 m deep off the north-western coast of Australia has yielded 19 species, including one new, two possibly endemic to the north-western coast of Australia, four well-known Indo-west Pacific tropical species and 12 species known from the deeper waters of the western Pacific, of which 11 had not previously been recorded from off the western Australian coast or from other parts of the Indian Ocean. A third of these 12 species displays adaptations for a reduction in filter-feeding capacity, as do other known species from deeper slope and abyssal habitats. Nevertheless a connection with fauna of deep ocean basins of the Indian Ocean is not apparent at this stage. The full range of characters associated with species, genera and families are discussed, and those contributing to the identification of immature or mutilated specimens, as well as those relevant to an assessment of phylogenetic relationships, are emphasized.     

A revision of the family Deckeniidae Ortmann, 1897 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamoidea), with description of a new genus (Gecarcinucidae: Gecarcinucoidea) from the Seychelles,Indian Ocean

The family Deckeniidae Ortmann, 1897, is revised and only 2 East African species are recognised, D. imitatrix Hilgendorf, 1869, and D. mitis Hilgendorf, 1898. The identity of the poorly known species from Seychelles, Indian Ocean, Deckenia alluaudi A. Milne Edwards and Bouvier, 1893, is clarified. This species is redescribed, assigned to a new genus (Seychellum gen. nov.), removed from the Deckeniidae sensu stricto and transferred to the family Gecarcinucidae Rathbun, 1904.     

Supplementary description of Funchalia taaningi Burkenroad, 1940 (Crustacea,Decapoda, Penaeidae) from the Central Pacific Ocean and a new record of F. villosa (Bouvier, 1905) from the Eastern Indian Ocean

The pelagic penaeid shrimp Funchalia taaningi Burkenroad, 1940 is redescribed based on specimens collected mainly in the central Pacific Ocean. The petasma of the male is illustrated for the first time. The distribution of the species is extended into the eastern Indian Ocean based on a female collected in 1964 during the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Two males of Funchalia villosa (Bouvier, 1905), also collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition, are recorded from the eastern Indian Ocean, extending the known distribution of this species.     

Discovery of the freshwater genus Sicyopus (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Sicydiinae) in Madagascar,with a description of a new species and comments on regional dispersal

In the Indo-Pacific area, insular rivers are mainly colonized by gobiids of the Sicydiinae subfamily. These species spawn in freshwater, where the free embryos drift downstream to the sea before returning to rivers to reproduce; they are amphidromous. These gobies are the greatest contributors to the fish diversity and have the highest levels of endemism. Among the nine known genera of Sicydiinae, only two have been found in the West Indian Ocean, and only one (Sicyopterus) is known from Madagascar. Recently, two surveys discovered a new species in the genus Sicyopus. Sicyopus lord sp. nov. differs from other species by a combination of characters that includes a particular colour pattern, similar in both sexes; more scales than its congeners in lateral series (35–43), transverse back series (12–18) and a shorter caudal fin length in male fish. This paper describes the new species and discusses the presence of this genus in Madagascar.     

The catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) of central Sumatra

The freshwater and estuarine catfishes of central Sumatra draining to the Indian Ocean and between the Rokan and Batang Hari drainages are reported on the basis of literature records, museum material, and recent collections. Eighty-two species in 10 families are recorded from central Sumatra. Hemibagrus velox and Nanobagrus stellatus are described here as new species. Akysis macronema and Clarias olivaceus are redescribed here.     

Some anisakid nematodes from marine fishes of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean

A recent collection of anisakid nematodes from marine fishes from Japan and the North Pacific Ocean comprised a total of seven species of two genera; six of them (Raphidascaroides nipponensis Yamaguti, 1941, Hysterothylacium aduncum aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802), H. auctum (Rudolphi, 1802), H. cornutum (Stossich, 1904), H. marinum (Linnaeus, 1767) and H. physiculi sp. n.) parasitize fishes as adults, whereas one (Hysterothylacium sp.) occurred as larvae encapsulated in the host's abdominal cavity. Hysterothylacium physiculi sp. n. from the intestine of the gadiform fish Physiculus maximowiczi (Herzenstein) (family Moridae) from the western North Pacific (Kamaishi Bay, Honshu) is characterized mainly by shape of the lips, presence of well developed lateral alae starting some distance posterior to base of the lips, a short caecum, and markedly short (324-416mum) spicules. SEM study of R. nipponensis, type species of the genus, did not confirm the presence of dentigerous ridges on the lips. All species are briefly described and illustrated and some taxonomic problems are discussed. Several new host and geographical records are presented.     

A new genus of hemibranchiate sphaeromatid isopod crustacean from tropical Western Australia

A new genus and species of marine sphaeromatid isopod is described from the North West Shelf (Indian Ocean) tropical Western Australia. Kranosphaera haptomela gen. nov. sp. nov. (Sphaeromatinae) is distinguished from other hemibranchiate genera by the strongly rugose and deeply pitted body surfaces, projecting epistome, uniramous uropodal rami, and in the male by modified pereopod 5 which is greatly expanded and 6 which has a coupling flange on the ischium. It is known only from the vicinity of the type locality.     

Calanoides natalis Brady, 1914 (Copepoda: Calanoida: Calanidae): identity and distribution in relation to coastal oceanography of the eastern Atlantic and western Indian Oceans

Until recently, Calanoides carinatus s.l. was assumed to be very widespread in the upwelling systems of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Molecular data, reported here, show that Calanoides from the eastern Atlantic and Arabian Sea are one species and distinct from C. carinatus s.s. The name Calanoides natalis Brady, 1914 is available for this species, which is fully re-described. The illustration by Brady of the male fifth leg and the currently reported genetic data lead us to conclude that C. natalis is distributed from the Bay of Biscay southwards along the eastern Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope, and northwards along the western boundary of the Indian Ocean as far as the Arabian Sea. A by-product of this study is the recognition that Calanoides macrocarinatus is a junior synonym of Calanoides brevicornis. Females of C. natalis are easy to distinguish morphologically from C. carinatus s.s. but are more similar to C. brevicornis, apart from size differences. From physical oceanographic evidence we conclude that the Indian Ocean is currently the upstream part of the distribution of C. natalis. Calanoides philippinensis is known to extend into the eastern Indian Ocean at tropical latitudes. It is not known if it is C. philippinensis that has been recorded along the western coast of Australia. An apparently undescribed species of Calanoides occurs on the eastern Australian coast.