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- Appeltans, W., et al.
(author)
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The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity
- 2012
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In: Current Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 22:23, s. 2189-2202
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The question of how many marine species exist is important because it provides a metric for how much we do and do not know about life in the oceans. We have compiled the first register of the marine species of the world and used this baseline to estimate how many more species, partitioned among all major eukaryotic groups, may be discovered. Results: There are similar to 226,000 eukaryotic marine species described. More species were described in the past decade (similar to 20,000) than in any previous one. The number of authors describing new species has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of new species described in the past six decades. We report that there are similar to 170,000 synonyms, that 58,000-72,000 species are collected but not yet described, and that 482,000-741,000 more species have yet to be sampled. Molecular methods may add tens of thousands of cryptic species. Thus, there may be 0.7-1.0 million marine species. Past rates of description of new species indicate there may be 0.5 +/- 0.2 million marine species. On average 37% (median 31%) of species in over 100 recent field studies around the world might be new to science. Conclusions: Currently, between one-third and two-thirds of marine species may be undescribed, and previous estimates of there being well over one million marine species appear highly unlikely. More species than ever before are being described annually by an increasing number of authors. If the current trend continues, most species will be discovered this century.
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| 6. |
- GLÜCK, FRANZISKA U., et al.
(author)
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Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the continental shelf off Angola and Namibia
- 2012
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In: Zootaxa. - : Magnolia Press. - 1175-5326 .- 1175-5334. ; 3475:1, s. 1-1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The fauna occurring in waters off South-West Africa is of a remarkable composition and highly diverse due to local waterbodies, flow conditions and abiotic factors. These parameters predominate as a result of the cooperation of a major coastalupwelling system (the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem), the Benguela Current flowing northwards, thesouthward directed Angola Current and the Angola–Benguela Frontal Zone formed in the transition zone of both watercurrents. This area has been insufficiently explored within the last decades and major gaps in biodiversity knowledge existto date. Two expeditions were conducted in 2004/2008, which collected benthic fauna samples. This is a list of brittle starsfound and a comprehensive research study relating to Ophiuroidea in waters off Angola and Namibia. 17 species could beidentified at depths from the littoral zone down to 125 m. The known depth and geographical distributions were extended for several species. Short diagnoses and ecological data are included.
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| 9. |
- KROH, ANDREAS, et al.
(author)
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On the spelling of Antrechinus nordenskjoldi (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)*
- 2012
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In: Zoosymposia. - : Magnolia Press. - 1178-9905 .- 1178-9913. ; 7:1, s. 241-245
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The spelling of organism names seems to be a trivial matter. A brief glance at the scientific literature, however, shows that it is far from that. In some cases, delving into these seemingly minor or even unimportant issues of spelling can turn up historical information germane to our science. Apart from simple misspellings and printing errors, differing ideas about the formation of names and the late onset of regulations (ICZN, ICBN) covering the naming and use of names are sources for different spellings. It was not until 1905 that a first internationally accepted version of what we now know as “the Code” was published under the name “Règles internationales de la Nomenclature Zoologique adoptées par les Congrès Internationaux de Zoologie”. The Code kept being emended after this first attempt to provide a unified set of rules for the naming and treatment of names and today, for animals, the 4th edition of the Code is valid (ICZN 1999).
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| 11. |
- Stöhr, Sabine, et al.
(author)
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Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from seamounts in the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean): first account, with descriptions of new species
- 2012
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In: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0025-3154 .- 1469-7769. ; 92:5, s. 1195-1208
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For the first time, brittle stars were collected on two seamounts in the Andaman Back-arc Basin. Of the six species, two were new to science and are described herein asOphioleuce longispinumsp. nov. andOphiophyllum minimumsp. nov., in the family Ophiuridae, subfamilies Ophioleucinae and Ophiurinae, respectively. Skeletal details were studied and documented by scanning electron microscopy. Morphological similarities between related species are discussed in detail.Ophioleuce longispinumsp. nov. is particularly interesting, because it combines characters typical for its genus with those otherwise only known fromOphiophyllum, such as a limpet-like disc, a fringe of marginal disc papillae or spines, and a paddle-like modified lower arm spine. The remaining species,Astrophiuracf.tiki,Ophiactis perplexa,Ophiolimna antarcticaand an unidentifiedOphiura, are new records for the Andaman Sea.
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| 12. |
- Stöhr, Sabine, et al.
(author)
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Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the southern coast of Turkey (eastern Mediterranean): new records and revision of Amphiodia obtecta Mortensen, 1940
- 2010
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In: Zootaxa. - : Magnolia Press. - 1175-5326 .- 1175-5334. ; 2483:1, s. 45-45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Brittle stars were collected on the southern coast of Turkey in 2005 and 2009. The most abundant species found (up to 420 ind. m -2 ) was Amphiodia obtecta. The taxonomic status of this species was unclear and is revised here. This is the first record of the genus Amphiodia in the Mediterranean Sea; it probably originates from the Red Sea, since it is absent from the entire Atlantic Ocean. Among the other species found, Ophiactis macrolepidota (previously reported as O. parva in the Mediterranean) is a new record for the marine fauna of Turkey.
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| 14. |
- Stöhr, Sabine
(author)
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New records and new species of Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia
- 2011
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In: Zootaxa. - : Magnolia Press. - 1175-5326 .- 1175-5334. ; 3089:1, s. 1-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- New Caledonia is a species-rich region that has been the focus of biodiversity research for over 40 years. The expedition “Atelier Lifou 2000” collected benthic fauna at the island of Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, in November of 2000. This is a taxonomic account of the brittle stars found. 94 species were identified, 51 of them new for the region, and seven new to science, increasing the total number of species known from the New Caledonia region to 204. New species are described in the genera Squamophis, Astroceras, Astrogymnotes, Ophiochondrus, Ophiomoeris, Ophiozonella and Amphipholis. Three species and a subspecies are revised, one of them placed in a new genus. The taxonomic status of Euryale Lamarck, 1816, a junior homonym of Euryale Péron & Lesueur, 1810 (a medusa), is stabilized by formally establishing precedence over the senior name.
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| 16. |
- Stöhr, Sabine
(author)
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Ophiuroid (Echinodermata) systematics—where do we come from, where do we stand and where should we go?*
- 2012
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In: Zoosymposia. - : Magnolia Press. - 1178-9905 .- 1178-9913. ; 7:1, s. 147-162
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over 2,000 Recent species of brittle star are currently known. The most active period of species discovery was between 1850 and 1950, with an average rate of about 20 new species per year, but even today, an average of 7 species per year are described. The most prolific authors were R. Koehler, H.L. Clark, T. Lyman, T. Mortensen and C. Lütken. Early classifications divided the Ophiuroidea into Euryalida and Ophiurida. Matsumoto suggested in 1917 further subdivision, accepted by some authors, rejected by others. His classification is still the most comprehensive work available. A first modern cladistic analysis was presented in 1995 by Smith et al., but despite its shortcomings, no further attempts at reconstructing the phylogeny of the whole class have been made. It is becoming increasingly clear that Ophiuroidea have undergone rapid evolution after the great extinction event at the Permian/Triassic boundary, complicating phylogenetic analysis both with morphological and molecular data. Palaeozoologists still debate which ophiuroid group(s) survived the extinction. It has been suggested that the modern families Ophiuridae and Ophiolepididae may be traced back to the Palaeozoic, but the traditional view puts Ophiacanthidae and Ophiomyxidae at the root of the tree, with Euryalida as ancient sister group to Ophiurida. Unusual species with aberrant traits abound, but are still poorly understood. New morphological approaches, such as the study of the internal skeleton (jaws, dental plates, lateral arm plates), ontogeny and the role of paedomorphosis, as well as the extensive use of SEM for microstructure examinations, attempt to improve our understanding of the diversity and evolution of brittle stars.
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| 17. |
- Stöhr, Sabine, et al.
(author)
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Taxonomic revision and phylogeny of the Ophiocoma brevipes group (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea), with description of a new subgenus (Breviturma) and a new species
- 2013
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In: European journal of taxonomy. - : Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle. - 2118-9773. ; :68
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The taxonomy of the genus Ophiocoma was last revised by Devaney in 1970. Recent discoveries of new species and re-instatement of previously synonymized names suggest that we still do not fully understand the species limits in this genus. A recent biodiversity survey of the SW Indian Ocean shallow reefs strongly suggested an unrecognised species in the genus, closely related to O. brevipes/O. dentata. This study examined both the molecular phylogenetic relationships and the morphological characteristics of several species in the genus in order to characterise the unrecognised species. The focal species clusters with O. brevipes, O. dentata, O. doederleini within a monophyletic clade supported by molecular data for the first time. The name Breviturma subgen. nov. is proposed for this clade, previously known as brevipes group. Type material of nominal species that have been synonymized with O. dentata was examined and re-assessed. Ophiocoma marmorata proved not conspecific with O. dentata. A rarely used character, dorsal disc granule density, was tested and showed differences between the examined species at similar sizes. In combination with colour pattern, disc granule density, arm spine sequence and maximum disc size, the new species was delimited morphologically and described as Ophiocoma krohi sp. nov.
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| 19. |
- Thuy, Ben, et al.
(author)
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Lateral arm plate morphology in brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea): new perspectives for ophiuroid micropalaeontology and classification
- 2011
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In: Zootaxa. - : Magnolia Press. - 1175-5326 .- 1175-5334. ; 3013:1, s. 1-47
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lateral arm plates, the spine-bearing plates of the ophiuroid arm skeleton, have long been assumed to display sufficient morphological diversity to be used for species identifications in ophiuroid micropalaeontology. As a consequence, many new brittle-star species have been described on the basis of isolated fossil lateral arm plates. A substantial lack of information on the morphological variability of lateral arm plates in respect of taxon concepts, however, has led to increasing confusion over species limits and excessive extensions of stratigraphic species ranges. In this study, we therefore performed a detailed assessment of the variability of lateral arm plate morphology within and between species in order to test to what extent isolated lateral arm plates can be used for species identifications. To this end, we investigated the morphological variability of lateral arm plates within species according to ontogenetic changes and according to the position of the plates along the arm. Furthermore, we examined the lateral arm plates of 56 Recent species, belonging to 27 genera and 10 families, and systematically assessed their morphology in the light of currently accepted taxon concepts. The results of this study demonstrate that lateral arm plate morphology is in accordance with most family, genus and species limits. Some of the currently accepted taxon concepts, including the affinities between the Ophiacanthidae and Ophiocomidae, however, are challenged by lateral arm plate morphology. Differences in lateral arm plate morphology between taxa are the most conspicuously displayed by adult proximal lateral arm plates, as a consequence of their high degree of differentiation compared to distal or juvenile lateral arm plates. Differences at species level, often pertain to characters which were considered to be within-species variation in previous micropalaeontological works, suggests that species identifications based on isolated fossil lateral arm plates require a much more detailed and careful morphological assessment. Some of the species studied herein displayed indistinguishable lateral arm plate morphologies, but belonged to the same genus in all cases. Our study endorses the use of isolated fossil lateral arm plates for taxonomic interpretations in ophiuroid micropalaeontology, including species identifications and the creation of new taxa, providing that descriptions are based on pristinely preserved adult proximal LAPs, described and illustrated using SEM-pictures of both the external and internal sides of the plate.
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