Tohru Naruse

Semisubmersible oil platforms: understudied and potentially major vectors of biofouling-mediated invasions.

Biofouling has long been recognised as a major pathway for the introduction of non-indigenous species. This study records the decapods and stomatopod crustaceans fouling a semisubmersible oil platform dry docked for hull cleaning in Jurong Port, Singapore. Of the 25 species of decapods identified, 13 were non-indigenous and represent new records to Singapore waters. Of these, the crabs Glabropilumnus seminudus and Carupa tenuipes are known to be invasive in other parts of the world. The stomatopod, Gonodactylaceus randalli, is the first mantis shrimp recorded in a biofouling community. The richness and diversity of this fouling community, consisting of many vagile species, highlights the difference between platforms and ships. With the expansion of maritime oil and gas exploration, the threat posed by an expanded fleet of semisubmersible oil platforms translocating non-indigenous fouling communities across biogeographical boundaries is very serious. Scientists, policy-makers, and stakeholders should turn their attention to this growing problem.

Low Genetic Diversity of Oval Squid, Sepioteuthis cf. lessoniana (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae), in Japanese Waters Inferred from a Mitochondrial DNA Non-coding Region

ABSTRACT Genetic diversity and population structure of Japanese populations of the oval squid, Sepioteuthis cf. lessoniana, were compared with populations from Taiwan and Vietnam using nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial DNA non-coding region 2. In total, 402 nucleotide sequences representing 242 individuals from Japanese waters (Ishikawa, Japan Sea coast of Honshu; Tokushima, eastern Shikoku; Nagasaki, western Kyushu; and Okinawajima and Ishigakijima Island, in the Ryukyu Archipelago) and the East and South China Seas (Keelung, northern Taiwan; Vietnam, Gulf of Tonkin) were examined. Among the 29 haplotypes recognized, haplotype no. 1 was shared by more than 75% of individuals from Japanese localities, whereas it was found in less than 13% of specimens from the East and South China Seas populations. Conversely, the East and South China Seas populations included more than 30% individuals with haplotype no. 2, whereas less than 10% of haplotype no. 2 individuals were from Japanese localities. The differences of haplotype and nucleotide diversities between pooled Japanese populations (0.2639, 0.23%) and the East and South China Seas populations (0.7900, 1.01%) indicate that S. cf. lessoniana from Japanese waters exhibits lower genetic diversity. An analysis of molecular variance between the Japanese populations and the East and South China Seas populations was highly significant. A minimum spanning tree of 29 haplotypes and an Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) tree based on pairwise FST comparisons also supported the separation between Japanese and the East and South China Seas populations. We suggest that the Kuroshio Current physically limits gene flow and has thus caused the differences in genetic diversity among the populations examined.

Typhoon damage on a shallow mesophotic reef in Okinawa, Japan

Little is known about effects of large storm systems on mesophotic reefs. This study reports on how Typhoon 17 (Jelawat) affected Ryugu Reef on Okinawa-jima, Japan in September 2012. Benthic communities were surveyed before and after the typhoon using line intercept transect method. Comparison of the benthic assemblages showed highly significant differences in coral coverage at depths of 25–32 m before and after Typhoon 17. A large deep stand of Pachyseris foliosa was apparently less resistant to the storm than the shallower high diversity area of this reef. Contradictory to common perception, this research shows that large foliose corals at deeper depths are just as susceptible to typhoon damage as shallower branching corals. However, descriptive functional group analyses resulted in only minor changes after the disturbance, suggesting the high likelihood of recovery and the high resilience capacity of this mesophotic reef.

Low genetic variability in an endangered population of fiddler crab Uca arcuata on Okinawajima Island: analysis of mitochondrial DNA

Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was performed on polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA fragments containing the D-loop, ND2, and CO I genes of fiddler crab Uca arcuata mitochondrial DNA. In total, 316 individuals from six populations in Japan and two populations in Taiwan were analyzed using five restriction endonucleases (Afal, Bcnl, Cfr13l, Haelll and Hinfl), yielding 85 haplotypes. Samples were taken from Nakagusuku Bay, Okinawajima Island, which is the only known distribution of U. arcuata in the Ryukyu Archipelago. The Okinawajima Island population is isolated geographically from others and showed a marked low genetic variability (h=0.2539, π=0.0005) and significant differentiation from other population samples in haplotype composition. We suggest that a substantial decrease in the genetic variability of the Okinawajima Island population was caused by genetic drift under the conditions of small population size and low gene flow from other populations. It is important to conserve the intertidal zone in Nakagusuku Bay for the maintenance of this endangered population.

A first fossil record of the terrestrial crab, Geothelphusa tenuimanus (Miyake & Minei, 1965) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamidae) from Okinawa Island, Central Ryukyus, Japan

Fossils of the terrestrial crab, Geothelphusa tenuimanus , are described. These fossils were collected from clay within the e ssures that rift the limestone of the Middle Pleistocene Ryukyu Formation on Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands. The geological age of the fossil G. tenuimanus was estimated as Late Pleistocene, because they occurred in association with a fossil deer ( Cervus sp.), which is already extinct on Okinawa Island. This is the e rst fossil record of a true freshwater crab from the Ryukyu Islands. In both fossil and extant specimens of G. tenuimanus, the longer movable e ngers of the chelipeds usually have a stronger curvature, but the present fossil specimens contain higher numbers of strongly curved movable e ngers than found in extant specimens. This difference may be caused by the fact that no sufe ciently large extant specimens have been examined.

The Tràng An Project: Late-to-Post-Pleistocene Settlement of the Lower Song Hong Valley, North Vietnam

Trang An is a Vietnamese government supported cultural and ecological park development covering 2,500 hectares that is centred on an isolated massif on the southern edge of the Song Hong delta in Ninh Binh Province, north Vietnam (Fig. 1). The archaeological investigation of Trang An is being led jointly by the Xuan Truong Construction Corporation and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, under the direction of the lead author. The Corporation is creating an ecologically sensitive development – the ‘Trang An Tourism Resort’ – within this karstic landscape, which is also the subject of a planned application to UNESCO for World Heritage Site status. International involvement in this work has been at the behest of Nguyen Van Truong, the General Director of Xuan Truong and at the invitation of the Ninh Binh Peoples Committee. The research itself is carried out under the guidance of Nguyen Van Son, the Trang An Tourism Resort Project Manager. The main focus of the May 2007 season was to undertake excavations at the site of Hang Boi (the ‘Fortune-Tellers Cave’).

On a new species of freshwater crab of the genus Sinopotamon (Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamidae) from Wuyi mountain, southeastern China

[The present study describes a new species of Sinopotamon Bott, 1967, from Zixi county, Jiangxi Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from the allied S. siguqiaoense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995, and S. linhuaense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995, primarily by the structure of the male first gonopod. Eine neue Art der Gattung Sinopotamon Bott, 1967 wird aus dem Zixi-Distrikt der Jiangxi Provinz in China beschrieben. Die neue Art unterscheidet sich von den ihr nahe stehenden S. siguqiaoense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995 und S. linhuaense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995 vor allem durch den Bau der ersten mannlichen Gonopoden., The present study describes a new species of Sinopotamon Bott, 1967, from Zixi county, Jiangxi Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from the allied S. siguqiaoense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995, and S. linhuaense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995, primarily by the structure of the male first gonopod. Eine neue Art der Gattung Sinopotamon Bott, 1967 wird aus dem Zixi-Distrikt der Jiangxi Provinz in China beschrieben. Die neue Art unterscheidet sich von den ihr nahe stehenden S. siguqiaoense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995 und S. linhuaense Dai, Zhou & Peng, 1995 vor allem durch den Bau der ersten mannlichen Gonopoden.]

A Revision of the Freshwater Crab Genus Hainanpotamon Dai, 1995 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae: Potamiscinae), with a Redescription of Potamon (Potamon) orientale (Parisi, 1916) and Descriptions of Three New Species

Abstract The taxonomy of the potamid genus Hainanpotamon Dai, 1995, from Vietnam, Laos, Hainan Island (China) and, purportedly, Okinawa Island (Japan) is reviewed. The type species, Potamon (Potamon) orientale (Parisi, 1916), is redescribed and a lectotype designated. In addition, three new species are described. The poorly known species Potamon (Geothelphusa) globosum Parisi, 1916, is assigned to Hainanpotamon and its taxonomy clarified, with a lectotype designated. A key to the nine species of Hainanpotamon is provided.

Two New Cavernicolous Species of the Genus Sundathelphusa from Western Samar, Philippines (Decapoda: Brachyura: Parathelphusidae)

Abstract Two new troglobitic species of the freshwater crab genus Sundathelphusa (Parathelphusidae), S. waray, n. sp., and S. lobo, n. sp., are described from two caves in Samar, Philippines. This discovery brings the number of cavernicolous species of Sundathelphusa in the Philippines to nine. It is the first record of freshwater and true cavernicolous crab species from Samar. These two new species are morphologically closely related to S. cavernicola Takeda, 1983 and S. hades Takeda and Ng, 2001, but differ distinctly in the shape of carapace and the presence of long corneous spines in the dactyli. The new species are characterized by the non-pigmented body, greatly reduced eyes and long ambulatory legs that are associated with previously known troglobitic crabs. The presence of corneous spines on the distal two segments of the ambulatory legs is suggested as troglomorphic adaptation to subterranean habitat. A key to the cavernicolous freshwater crabs of the Philippines is also provided.

A revision of the Geothelphusa levicervix species group (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae), with descriptions of three new species

The taxonomy of the Geothelphusa levicervix species‐group of freshwater crabs (Potamidae), members of which are distributed on five islands in the Ryukyus, Japan, is revised. The present study recognizes five species in the group, three of which are here described as new, and each of which is restricted to its own island. They can be easily distinguished by both carapace and male gonopod characters. On the basis of recent collections, the precise type locality of G. levicervix is here determined to be Tokashiki Island. The five species are diagnosed and a key to the species of the species‐group is provided.