Natural history collections recapitulate 200 years of faunal change.

Changing species assemblages represent major challenges to ecosystems around the world. Retracing these changes is limited by our knowledge of past biodiversity. Natural history collections represent archives of biodiversity and are therefore an unparalleled source to study biodiversity changes.

New species and records of the genus Syllis Savigny in Lamarck, 1818 (Annelida: Syllidae) from Socotra Archipelago (Indian Ocean).

Based on a census of the polychaete fauna of the Socotra Archipelago in the Indian Ocean we report here new findings on the genus Syllis Savigny in Lamarck, 1818. These ten species are newly recorded from this area: Syllis alternata Moore, 1908; Syllis bouvieri Gravier, 1900; Syllis broomensis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1979); Syllis compacta Gravier, 1900; Syllis crassicirrata (Treadwell, 1925); Syllis gerlachi (Hartmann-Schröder, 1960); Syllis hyalina Grube, 1863; Syllis lutea (Hartmann-Schröder, 1960); Syllis schulzi (Hartmann-Schröder, 1960); Syllis ypsiloides Aguado, San Martín Ten Hove, 2008. Additionally, Syllis qamhiyn sp.

A new species and nine new records of Syllidae (Annelida) from the Socotra Archipelago (Indian Ocean).

In this paper, we report 10 species of Syllidae, collected in the Socotra Archipelago (Indian Ocean). They belong to eight different genera in four subfamilies namely, Syllinae: Haplosyllis Langerhans, 1879, Megasyllis San Martín, Hutchings Aguado, 2008, Opisthosyllis Langerhans, 1879, Trypanosyllis Claparède, 1864; Eusyllinae: Eusyllis Malmgren, 1867, Odontosyllis Claparède, 1863; Exogoninae: Salvatoria McIntosh, 1885; and Autolytinae: Myrianida Milne Edwards, 1845. Trypanosyllis mercedesae n.

Coming and going - Historical distributions of the European oyster Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, 1758 and the introduced slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata Linnaeus, 1758 in the North Sea.

Natural history collections are fundamental for biodiversity research as well as for any applied environment-related research. These collections can be seen as archives of earth´s life providing the basis to address highly relevant scientific questions such as how biodiversity changes in certain environments, either through evolutionary processes in a geological timescale, or by man-made transformation of habitats throughout the last decades and/or centuries. A prominent example is the decline of the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis Linneaus, 1758 in the North Sea and the concomitant invasion of the common limpet slipper Crepidula fornicata, which has been implicated to have negative effects on O.

Molecular phylogeny, morphology, and distribution of Polygordius (Polychaeta: Polygordiidae) in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Low morphological diversity among interstitial taxa makes it difficult to delimit species and their geographic boundaries based solely on morphology and molecular data often reveal cryptic species. Polygordius (Annelida, Polygordiidae) have low morphological diversity, but are unusual among interstitial species in their comparatively large size due to their elongated form, high fecundity, and potential for long-distance dispersal via a planktotrophic larval stage. Polygordius species collected from 14 localities in the Northwest Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, and Southwest Atlantic including several of the respective type localities were analysed.

Ampharetidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from cold seeps off Pakistan and hydrothermal vents off Taiwan, with the description of three new species.

The new ampharetid species Eclysippe yonaguniensis sp. nov. and Glyphanostomum bilabiatum sp.

Ampharetidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from Japan. Part II: Genera with elevated and modified notopodia.

The second paper of the series about Ampharetidae from Japan includes twelve species of four genera with elevated and modified notopodia, Anobothrus Levinsen, 1884, Sosane Malmgren, 1866 (including species of the synonymized genera Muggoides Hartman, 1965, Sosanopsis Hessle, 1917, and Genus A sensu Uebelacker 1984), Tanseimaruana gen. nov., and Zatsepinia Jirkov, 1986.

Diversity of the genus Terebellides (Polychaeta: Trichobranchidae) in the Adriatic Sea with the description of a new species.

Based on specimens collected during the sampling campaigns in the Northern Adriatic from 2003-2010, the diversity of genus Terebellides (Polychaeta; Trichobranchidae) was studied and three species are reported for the Northern Adriatic Sea: Terebellides gracilis Malm, 1874, Terebellides mediterranea spec. nov., and Terebellides stroemii Sars, 1835.

Morphology and ultrastructure of the nephridial system of Hypania invalida (Grube, 1860) (Annelida, Polychaeta, Ampharetidae).

The excretory organs of the freshwater polychaete Hypania invalida have been examined using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Three pairs of macroscopically and ultrastructurally different nephridia are present in the thorax. Intersegmental septa in the thorax are absent, with the exception of a single diaphragm between second and third chaetiger.