0000000000353656

AUTHOR

Joan J. Soto ÀNgel

Inhabitant or visitor? Unexpected finding of Aglaophenia (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) in Antarctic waters

AbstractBenthic hydrozoans are one of the most speciose and characteristic taxa from the Antarctic region, with a high number of endemic species, but diversity at the genus level is low and some families with world wide distribution are unrepresented. This is the case of the family Aglaopheniidae. A new species to science of the genus Aglaophenia Lamouroux has been found in the eastern end of the Weddell Sea, at depths of 65–116 m, within the material obtained by the German Antarctic expedition ANT XV/3. This finding constitutes a new record for the Weddell Sea fauna, the first evidence of the genus for the Polar Regions, and even the family Aglaopheniidae from Antarctic waters. The materia…

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An integrative identification guide to the Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Bocas del Toro, Panama

This work is the first attempt to assess the biodiversity of the Hydrozoa in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro (Panamá, Caribbean Sea) using morphology and molecular taxonomy, and to produce field identification tools to help future identification and monitoring efforts in the area. We sampled, identified, vouchered, and barcoded 112 specimens of Hydrozoa from shallow coastal waters (0–22 m depth) in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro. The specimens belong to 70 taxa, of which 53 were identified at the species level, and 17 were identified at the genus or family level. We produced 64 sequences of the large ribosomal subunit of the mitochondrial RNA (mt lsu-rRNA, 16S), the genetic marker ge…

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Shallow-water benthic hydroids from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)

Forty species of benthic hydroids, belonging to 15 families and 21 genera, were found in a collection, obtained by SCUBA diving, from the Maltese Islands. Paradoxically for the well studied Mediterranean region, the hydroid fauna of these islands is virtually unexplored. Of 40 species, 33 were identified to species level, with 28 of them reported for the first time for the study area. Hydractinia monocarpa is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, and a presumed new species of the genus Clytia has been found. The most speciose families are Campanulariidae with 10 species (25%), Aglaopheniidae with six species (15%) and Sertulariidae with five species (12%). Aglaophenia and Cl…

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An integrative identification guide to the Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Bocas del Toro, Panama

This work is the first attempt to assess the biodiversity of the Hydrozoa in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro (Panamá, Caribbean Sea) using morphology and molecular taxonomy, and to produce field identification tools to help future identification and monitoring efforts in the area. We sampled, identified, vouchered, and barcoded 112 specimens of Hydrozoa from shallow coastal waters (0–22 m depth) in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro. The specimens belong to 70 taxa, of which 53 were identified at the species level, and 17 were identified at the genus or family level. We produced 64 sequences of the large ribosomal subunit of the mitochondrial RNA (mt lsu-rRNA, 16S), the genetic marker ge…

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Benthic hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica)

Hydrozoans are a conspicuous component of Antarctic benthic communitites. Recent taxonomic effort has led to a substantial increase in knowledge on the diversity of benthic hydroids from some areas of the Southern Ocean, including the Weddell Sea, the largest sea in the Antarctic region. However, the study of many hydrozoan taxa are still pending, and the diversity in this huge region is expected to be higher than currently known. In order to contribute to the knowledge of taxonomy, ecology and distribution of these cnidarians, a study of unpublished material collected by several German Antarctic expeditions aboard the RV Polarstern in the eastern sector of the Weddell Sea has been conducte…

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