Influence of sipunculan (peanut worm) activity on orifice formation in scleractinian Heterocyathus for adaptation to soft substrates.

Mutualism profoundly affects the morphology and ecological evolution of both hosts and symbionts involved. Heterocyathus is a solitary scleractinian coral that lives on soft substrata, and sipunculan worms live symbiotically in the tube-like cavities (orifice) inside the coral skeletons. This habitat provides protection to the sipunculan worms against predators and-owing to the mobility of the worms-prevents the coral from being buried with sediments.

Four new dendrochirotid holothurians collected from the Seto Inland Sea and the western part of the Sea of Japan, western Japan.

Fifteen dendrochirotid holothurians, including four new species, were collected from the Seto Inland Sea and the western part of the Sea of Japan, western Japan by the training and research vessel (TR/V) TOYOSHIO MARU of Hiroshima University, during the 201415 surveys. Massinium toyoshiomaruae sp. nov.

Evolutionary Modification of Pereopods in Phronimid Amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea: Phronimidae) Reflects Host Differences.

Phronimid amphipods are oceanic crustaceans associated with gelatinous zooplankters. Their host organisms belong mainly to two taxonomic groups: tunicates (salps or pyrosomes; subphylum Tunicata) and siphonophores (Cnidaria). After these amphipods devour the inner tissues of their hosts, they display the unique behavior of modifying their hosts into hollow barrel-shaped shelters, which are then utilized as neonatal nurseries by the females.

Pulsed Terahertz Radiation for Sensitive Quantification of Carbonate Minerals.

Quantification of natural carbonate minerals, namely, aragonite, high- and low-Mg calcite, and dolomite provides essential information about biomineralization, carbon cycling on Earth, and the evolution of ocean chemistry, and is also useful in many other scientific, pharmaceutical, and industrial fields. However, X-ray diffractometer has previously been the only practical tool to identify and quantify carbonate minerals, including calcium carbonate (CaCO) polymorphs. We propose new fingerprint terahertz (THz) absorption and reflective index spectra in the 1-6 THz range that probe the lattice phonon modes and can be used for sensitive quantification of these four carbonate minerals, including polymorphs.

New records of six deep-sea caridean shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the Ryukyu Islands and its adjacent waters, southwestern Japan.

Six species of caridean shrimps from four families are recorded from Japanese waters for the first time on the basis of material from the Ryukyu Islands and its adjacent waters, collected during research cruises of the T/RV "Toyoshio-maru" of Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Hiroshima University: two species of Crangonidae, Lissosabinea unispinosa Komai, 2006 and Pseudopontophilus serratus Komai, 2004; one species of Oplophoridae, Systellaspis pellucida (Filhol, 1885); one species of Pandalidae, Calipandalus elachys Komai Chan, 2003; and two species of Pasiphaeidae, Pasiphaea debitusae Hayashi, 1999 and P. gracilis Hayashi, 1999. Of them, L.