A new species of coral-dwelling crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Cryptochiridae: Opecarcinus) from the West Pacific.

Based on material acquired from Green Island, Taiwan, using a combined approach of traditional morphology-based taxonomy and molecular barcoding, we describe a new species of coral-dwelling crab, Opecarcinus ngankeeae sp. nov., from the scleractinian hosts Pavona decussata and P.

Critical thermal maxima and oxygen uptake in Elysia viridis, a sea slug that steals chloroplasts to photosynthesize.

Photosynthetic animals produce oxygen, providing an ideal lens for studying how oxygen dynamics influence thermal sensitivity. The algivorous sea slug Elysia viridis can steal and retain chloroplasts from the marine alga Bryopsis sp. for months when starved, but chloroplast retention is mere weeks when they are fed another green alga, Chaetomorpha sp.

Phylomitogenomics elucidates the evolution of symbiosis in Thoracotremata (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae, Pinnotheridae, Varunidae).

Background: Thoracotremata belong to the large group of "true" crabs (infraorder Brachyura), and they exhibit a wide range of physiological and morphological adaptations to living in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats. Moreover, the clade comprises various symbiotic taxa (Aphanodactylidae, Cryptochiridae, Pinnotheridae, some Varunidae) that are specialised in living with invertebrate hosts, but the evolutionary history of these symbiotic crabs is still partially unresolved.

Methods: Here we assembled and characterised the complete mitochondrial genomes (hereafter mitogenomes) of three gall crab species (Cryptochiridae): , and .

Interspecific coral competition does not affect the symbiosis of gall crabs (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) and their scleractinian hosts.

Coral reefs accommodate a myriad of species, many of which live in association with a host organism. Decapod crustaceans make up a large part of this associated fauna on coral reefs. Among these, cryptochirid crabs are obligately associated with scleractinian corals, in which they create dwellings where they permanently reside.

Molecular diversity of benthic ctenophores (Coeloplanidae).

Coeloplanidae, the largest family of benthic ctenophores, comprises 33 species, all described based on traditional morphological characteristics, such as coloration, length, and number of aboral papillae, which are highly variable and can be affected by fixation methods and environmental conditions. Thus, there is a need for reliable genetic markers to complement the morphological identifications at the species level. Here, we analyzed 95 specimens from 11 morphologically distinct species of benthic ctenophores from the Red Sea and Sulu Sea, and tested selected regions of four genetic markers (ITS1, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA and COI) for their ability to differentiate between species.

Coat of many colours-DNA reveals polymorphism of mantle patterns and colouration in Caribbean Röding, 1798 (Gastropoda, Ovulidae).

The iconic gastropod genus is commonly observed in the Caribbean, where it lives in association with various octocorallian hosts. Each species in the genus has a unique, characteristic mantle pattern and colouration, which separates the valid taxa. Because of its abundance and recognisability has been used as a model organism in several studies concerning allelochemicals, reef degradation, and physical defence mechanisms.

Extreme mitochondrial variation in the Atlantic gall crab Opecarcinus hypostegus (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) reveals adaptive genetic divergence over Agaricia coral hosts.

The effectiveness of migration in marine species exhibiting a pelagic larval stage is determined by various factors, such as ocean currents, pelagic larval stage duration and active habitat selection. Direct measurement of larval movements is difficult and, consequently, factors determining the gene flow patterns remain poorly understood for many species. Patterns of gene flow play a key role in maintaining genetic homogeneity in a species by dampening the effects of local adaptation.

Phylogenetic relationships within the Phyllidiidae (Opisthobranchia, Nudibranchia).

The Phyllidiidae (Gastropoda, Heterobranchia, Nudibranchia) is a family of colourful nudibranchs found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Despite the abundant and widespread occurrence of many species, their phylogenetic relationships are not well known. The present study is the first contribution to fill the gap in our knowledge on their phylogeny by combining morphological and molecular data.

The phylogenetic position of a new species of Plakobranchus from West Papua, Indonesia (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa).

Plakobranchus papua Meyers-Muñoz & van der Velde, sp. n. from West Papua (Papua Barat province, Indonesia), is described based on its external morphology, colour pattern, internal anatomy, radula and reproductive system.

Trace fossil evidence of coral-inhabiting crabs (Cryptochiridae) and its implications for growth and paleobiogeography.

Members of the Cryptochiridae are small, fragile, symbiotic crabs that live in domiciles in modern corals. Despite their worldwide occurrence with over 50 species known today, their fossil record is unknown. We provide the first unambiguous evidence of cryptochirids in the fossil record through their crescentic pits, typical for certain cryptochirids, in Western Atlantic fossil corals, while the Eocene genus Montemagrechirus is excluded from the Cryptochiridae and referred to Montemagrechiridae fam.

Occurrence patterns of coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae) over depth intervals in the Caribbean.

Coral-associated invertebrates form a major part of the diversity on reefs, but their distribution and occurrence patterns are virtually unstudied. For associated taxa data are lacking on their distribution across shelves and environmental gradients, but also over various depths. Off Curaçao we studied the prevalence and density of coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae), obligate symbionts of stony corals.

Phylogenetic ecology of gall crabs (Cryptochiridae) as associates of mushroom corals (Fungiidae).

Coral-associated fauna is a relatively understudied topic. Hence, the nature of the relationship between an associated organism and its host is usually unknown. In the present study, the obligate associations between gall crabs (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) and mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) are reviewed from a phylogenetic perspective.

Scleractinian corals (Fungiidae, Agariciidae and Euphylliidae) of Pulau Layang-Layang, Spratly Islands, with a note on Pavonamaldivensis (Gardiner, 1905).

Layang-Layang is a small island part of an oceanic atoll in the Spratly Islands off Sabah, Malaysia. As the reef coral fauna in this part of the South China Sea is poorly known, a survey was carried out in 2013 to study the species composition of the scleractinian coral families Fungiidae, Agariciidae and Euphylliidae. A total of 56 species was recorded.

A new gall crab species (Brachyura, Cryptochiridae) associated with the free-living coral Trachyphylliageoffroyi (Scleractinia, Merulinidae).

A new species of gall crab is described from the free-living stony coral Trachyphylliageoffroyi. Specimens were collected during field work in Lembeh Strait (Indonesia) and off Kudat (Malaysian Borneo). This new species, here named Lithoscaptussemperi sp.

A new species of Fizesereneia Takeda & Tamura, 1980 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Cryptochiridae) from the Red Sea and Oman.

A new species of cryptochirid crab, Fizesereneia panda van der Meij, is described and illustrated based on specimens collected from the scleractinian corals Lobophyllia cf. hemprichii and L. cf.

A new species of Opecarcinus Kropp & Manning, 1987 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Cryptochiridae) associated with the stony corals Pavona clavus (Dana, 1846) and P. bipartita Nemenzo, 1980 (Scleractinia: Agariciidae).

A new species of Opecarcinus Kropp & Manning, 1987, is described from Indonesia and Malaysia. Opecarcinus cathyae sp. nov.

The types of Osteoglossum formosum Müller & Schlegel, 1840 (Teleostei, Osteoglossidae).

The designation of a neotype for Scleropages formosus (Müller & Schlegel, 1840) by Pouyaud et al. (2003) triggered a search for the type specimens of the species, which were found in the collections of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden (RMNH) and the Natural History Museum, London (BM(NH)). The publication date of the species is corrected.

Fish, fans and hydroids: host species of pygmy seahorses.

An overview of the octocoral and hydrozoan host species of pygmy seahorses is provided based on literature records and recently collected field data for Hippocampus bargibanti, Hippocampus denise and Hippocampus pontohi. Seven new associations are recognized and an overview of the so far documented host species is given. A detailed re-examination of octocoral type material and a review of the taxonomic history of the alcyonacean genera Annella (Subergorgiidae) and Muricella (Acanthogorgiidae) are included as baseline for future revisions.

Long-term changes in coral assemblages under natural and anthropogenic stress in Jakarta Bay (1920-2005).

Coral reefs in Jakarta Bay have been subjected to scientific studies since the 1920s. Also from that time on biological collections were made. The reefs in the Jakarta Bay have been under long-term natural and anthropogenic stress.

Decline of the Jakarta Bay molluscan fauna linked to human impact.

In 1937/38 representative mollusc collections were made in Jakarta Bay (West Java, Indonesia). New data from here and the adjacent offshore Thousand Islands archipelago (Kepulauan Seribu) became available in 2005. Although collecting efforts and sampling methods differed, a comparison of the molluscan fauna of Jakarta Bay between 1937/38 and 2005 reveals a distinct deterioration.