A new species of the processid shrimp genus Nikoides Paulson, 1875 (Decapoda: Caridea) from Japan.

A new species of the processid shrimp genus Nikoides Paulson, 1875, N. subdistalis, is described and illustrated on the basis of five specimens collected from Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, at depths of 712 m. The new species appears most similar to N.

Redescription of the brackish water crab Ptychognathus glaber Stimpson, 1858 based on the topotypic material from the Ogasawara Islands and new record of P. lipkei N.K. Ng, 2010 from Japan (Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae).

Examination of material from various Japanese localities clarified that the estuarine crab Ptychognathus glaber Stimpson, 1858 is possibly restricted to the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Specimens from the Ryukyu Islands, thought to represent P. glaber, actually represent P.

Description of the second species of Synhalcurias Carlgren, 1914, Synhalcurias kahakui sp. nov. (Actiniaria: Actinernidae) with redescription of S. elegans (Wassilieff, 1908).

We describe a new sea anemone species, Synhalcurias kahakui sp. nov., from specimens collected off Otouto-jima and Amami-oshima islands in July 2016 and May 2019.

The critical role of natural history museums in advancing eDNA for biodiversity studies: a case study with Amazonian fishes.

Ichthyological surveys have traditionally been conducted using whole-specimen, capture-based sampling with varied but conventional fishing gear. Recently, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has emerged as a complementary, and possible alternative, approach to whole-specimen methodologies. In the tropics, where much of the diversity remains undescribed, vast reaches continue unexplored, and anthropogenic activities are constant threats; there have been few eDNA attempts for ichthyological inventories.

Seasonal Dynamics of Fungi Associated with Healthy and Diseased Needles in Northern Europe.

The relationship between the ecological success of needle pathogens of forest trees and species richness of co-inhabiting endophytic fungi is poorly understood. One of the most dangerous foliar pathogens of pine is , which is a widely spread threat to northern European forests. We sampled two sites in Estonia and two in Norway in order to analyse the relations between the abundance of and overall fungal richness, specific fungal species composition, time of season, needle age and position in the canopy.

Environmental DNA Metabarcoding: A Novel Method for Biodiversity Monitoring of Marine Fish Communities.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is genetic material that has been shed from macroorganisms. It has received increased attention as an indirect marker for biodiversity monitoring. This article reviews the current status of eDNA metabarcoding (simultaneous detection of multiple species) as a noninvasive and cost-effective approach for monitoring marine fish communities and discusses the prospects for this growing field.

Two New Halogenated Compounds from the Marine Red Alga Laurencia nipponica Yamada from the Kunashiri and Etorofu Islands.

The red alga Laurencia nipponica comprises various chemical races distributed relative to the ocean current in Japanese coastal areas. We investigated the chemical compositions and chemical races of L. nipponica distributed from the Kunashiri and Etorofu Islands, the confluence of the Soya warm current and Oya-shio cold current.

A new species of the squat lobster genus Uroptychodes Baba, 2004 (Decapoda: Anomura: Chirostylidae) from Japan.

A new species of the chirostylid squat lobster genus Uroptychodes Baba, 2004, U. fuscilineatus, is described and illustrated on the basis of a single ovigerous female from the Uraga Channel, central Japan, at depth of 250 m. The new species appears most similar to U.

Diversity and selection of the continuous-flowering gene, RoKSN, in rose.

Blooming seasonality is an important trait in ornamental plants and was selected by humans. Wild roses flower only in spring whereas most cultivated modern roses can flower continuously. This trait is explained by a mutation of a floral repressor gene, RoKSN, a TFL1 homologue.

Testing the Utility of Alternative Metrics of Branch Support to Address the Ancient Evolutionary Radiation of Tunas, Stromateoids, and Allies (Teleostei: Pelagiaria).

The use of high-throughput sequencing technologies to produce genome-scale data sets was expected to settle some long-standing controversies across the Tree of Life, particularly in areas where short branches occur at deep timescales. Instead, these data sets have often yielded many well-supported but conflicting topologies, and highly variable gene-tree distributions. A variety of branch-support metrics beyond the nonparametric bootstrap are now available to assess how robust a phylogenetic hypothesis may be, as well as new methods to quantify gene-tree discordance.

A new species of alpheid shrimp tentatively assigned to Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 (Decapoda: Caridea) from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

A new alpheid shrimp species, provisionally assigned to the genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955, is described and illustrated on the basis of three specimens extracted from intertidal soft sediments on seagrass beds at Iriomote Island, southern Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Salmoneus singularis n. sp.

Discovery of a colossal slickhead (Alepocephaliformes: Alepocephalidae): an active-swimming top predator in the deep waters of Suruga Bay, Japan.

A novel species of the family Alepocephalidae (slickheads), Narcetes shonanmaruae, is described based on four specimens collected at depths greater than 2171 m in Suruga Bay, Japan. Compared to other alepocephalids, this species is colossal (reaching ca. 140 cm in total length and 25 kg in body weight) and possesses a unique combination of morphological characters comprising anal fin entirely behind the dorsal fin, multiserial teeth on jaws, more scale rows than congeners, precaudal vertebrae less than 30, seven branchiostegal rays, two epurals, and head smaller than those of relatives.

First record of Bouvieraxius keiensis Sakai, 1992 and Manaxius aurantiaca n. sp. (Decapoda: Axiidea) from the waters around the Ogasawara Islands, Japan.

Two species of axiid shrimp are reported from sublittoral to upper bathyal waters around the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. The first, Bouvieraxius keiensis Sakai, 1992, is recorded from Japanese waters for the first time, although it is known widely from the southwestern Pacific to western Indian Ocean. Taxonomic problems of this taxon are pointed out.

Redescription of a poorly known upogebiid mud shrimp Gebiacantha acanthochela (Sakai, 1967) and description of a new species of the genus from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (Decapoda: Gebiidea).

Two species of the upogebiida mud shrimp genus Gebiacantha Ngoc-Ho, 1989, currently represented by 19 described species, are reported from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. The first, G. acanthochela (Sakai, 1967), is redescribed in detail based on two female specimens from Amami Islands the second discovered since the original description, enabling better assessment of its diagnostic characters.

Communities of mycorrhizal fungi in different trophic types of Asiatic Pyrola japonica sensu lato (Ericaceae).

Mixotrophic plants obtain carbon by their own photosynthetic activity and from their root-associated mycorrhizal fungi. Mixotrophy is deemed a pre-adaptation for evolution of mycoheterotrophic nutrition, where plants fully depend on fungi and lose their photosynthetic activity. The aim of this study was to clarify mycorrhizal dependency and heterotrophy level in various phenotypes of mixotrophic Pyrola japonica (Ericaceae), encompassing green individuals, rare achlorophyllous variants (albinos) and a form with minute leaves, P.

Redescription of the poorly known ghost shrimp species, Scallasis amboinae Bate, 1888, review of the genus, and description of a new species from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (Decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae).

A poorly known callianassid ghost shrimp species, Scallasis amboinae Bate, 1888, is redescribed and illustrated on the basis of the holotype and new material from Papua New Guinea. A new species, S. inermis, is described from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

A new species of the mud shrimp genus Axianassa Schmitt, 1924 (Decapoda: Gebiidea: Laomediidae) from Japan.

The laomediid mud shrimp genus Axianassa Schmitt, 1924 is currently represented by 12 species worldwide. In this study, a new species of the genus, A. microlepis, is described and illustrated on the basis of two female specimens obtained from Awaji Island, eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, at depth of 8 m.

On the identity of the poorly known pea crab, Pinnothera obesa Dana, 1852, and description of a new species of Arcotheres Manning, 1993 from the Southwest Pacific (Decapoda: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae).

The pinnotherid crab, Pinnothera obesa Dana, 1852, was originally described on the basis of material from Fiji, but its taxonomic status has long been obscure because the original description and figures are too brief and schematic by modern standards and the types are also lost. Examination of newly collected material from Fiji revealed the presence of two intertidal pinnotherid species assignable to the genus Arcotheres Manning, 1993, one of which is herein identified with Dana's taxon. A neotype is designated for Arcotheres obesus n.

A new species of pagurid hermit crab assigned to the genus Kumepagurus Komai amp; Osawa, 2012 (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea) from the Kaikata Seamount, Izu-Ogasawara Arc, Japan.

A new pagurid hermit crab species is assigned to the genus Kumepagurus Komai Osawa, 2012, previously represented only by the type species, K. cavernicolus Komai Osawa, 2012, known only from a marine cave on Ryukyu Islands, northwestern Pacific. The assignment is made because of the lack of an accessory tooth on the maxilliped 3 ischium, the operculiform right chela, the presence of two distal corneous claws on the left chela fixed finger, the simple pereopods 4 and the development and structure of the male sexual tubes on both coxae of pereopods 5, all characteristic to the type species of the genus.

A new species of the axiid shrimp genus Manaxius Kensley, 2003 (Decapoda: Axiidea) from shallow coral reefs of the western Pacific.

Manaxius paullus, a new species of axiid burrowing shrimp, is described on the basis of a female holotype from the Society Islands, French Polynesia, and a female paratype from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Both specimens were collected on shallow coral reefs. The new species is morphologically closest to five of 17 congeners, viz.

Turleania rubriguttatus, a new species of pagurid hermit crab (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea) from shallow water in Japan, with notes on T. senticosa (McLaughlin amp; Haig, 1996).

A new species of the pagurid hermit crab genus Turleania McLaughlin, 1997, T. rubriguttatus, is described on the basis of two specimens, including one male and one female, from shallow subtidal waters in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. The new species appears close to T.

A new species of the alpheid shrimp genus Automate de Man, 1888 (Decapoda: Caridea) from Japan.

A new species of the alpheid shrimp genus Automate de Man, 1888, A. awaji, is described on the basis of an ovigerous female holotype and three paratype specimens (sex not determined) from Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The specimens were collected from soft sediments on a shallow subtidal flat (depth 4-8 m) using an airlift suction sampler.

A new species of the laomediid mud shrimp genus Naushonia Kingsley, 1897 (Decapoda: Gebiidea) from Japan.

A new species of the laomediid mud shrimp genus Naushonia Kingsley, 1897, N. kiiensis, is described and illustrated on the basis of a single male specimen from Kii Peninsula, central Japan, at a sublittoral depth of 14 m. The new species is morphologically closest to N.

The Relationship between Fungal Diversity and Invasibility of a Foliar Niche-The Case of Ash Dieback.

European ash () is threatened by the invasive ascomycete originating from Asia. Ash leaf tissues serve as a route for shoot infection but also as a sporulation substrate for this pathogen. Knowledge of the leaf niche partitioning by indigenous fungi and is needed to understand the fungal community receptiveness to the invasion.