Ecological role and phylogenetic position of a new habitat-forming species (Canalipalpata, Sabellidae) from the Mediterranean mesophotic soft bottoms

Specimens of the sipunculan worm Phascolion (Phascolion) caupo Hendrix, 1975 have been collected for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, thus increasing the number of known sipunculan species of up to 36 in this area. They were encountered on soft bottoms from the coast of San Pedro del Pinatar (Western Mediterranean). Thirty specimens were collected at a depth ranging from 32.6 to 37.2 m, mainly in sandy substrata with high load of silt and clays. 80% of the individuals were found inhabiting empty shells of gastropods or empty tubes of serpulid polychaetes.

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Distribution, ecological role and symbioses of selected shrubby species in the Mediterranean Basin: a review

Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology ◽

10.1080/11263504.2020.1727988 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 154 (4) ◽

pp. 438-454

Author(s):

Emanuela Lombardo ◽

Svetlana Bancheva ◽

Gianniantonio Domina ◽

Giuseppe Venturella

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Basin ◽

Ecological Role ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Shrubby Species ◽

The Mediterranean Basin

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Sublittoral soft bottom assemblages within a Marine Protected Area of the northern Alboran Sea

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315414002082 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (5) ◽

pp. 871-884 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Pablo Marina ◽

José L. Rueda ◽

Javier Urra ◽

Carmen Salas ◽

Serge Gofas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Fine Sand ◽

Alboran Sea ◽

Faunal Assemblages ◽

Soft Bottoms ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Alborán Sea

The composition and structure of sublittoral faunal assemblages inhabiting soft bottoms (15–72 m depth) within the Marine Protected Area ‘Acantilados y Fondos Marinos de Calahonda-Castell de Ferro’ in southern Spain (North Alboran Sea, Mediterranean) have been studied in relation to sediment and water column variables. Three assemblages were identified and corresponded to mixed bottom, unstable bottom and coastal detritic bottom assemblages, based on Pérès & Picard's (1964) benthic classification. A total of 14,318 individuals were collected and 218 species identified, molluscs being the best represented group (141 species). Species richness displayed significant differences with depth and transect, with the highest values observed in the medium to very fine sand and muddy bottoms with bioclasts located at the shallowest sampling stations. The presence of some rare and poorly known invertebrates that are scarce in other areas of the Mediterranean Sea is remarkable, such as the crustacean decapods Bythocaris cosmetops and Pagurus mbizi, Atlantic species with no records in the Mediterranean Sea, and the bathyal molluscs Poromya granulata and Alvania testae, collected at shallow depths. The spatial distribution of faunal assemblages was mainly related to depth and percentage of gravel and clay according to the canonical correspondence analysis. The geographic location of the area, the heterogeneity of soft bottoms and the presence of upwellings in the area may favour the high biodiversity found in the studied soft bottoms. This study increases the scarce knowledge of the circalittoral fauna of sedimentary habitats of the Alboran Sea, providing a baseline for the management of this interesting SCI and for the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

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First record of the endemic anthozoan Spinimuricea klavereni (Carpine & Grasshoff 1975) (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Plexauridae) in the Adriatic Sea

Acta Adriatica ◽

10.32582/aa.62.1.5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 75-82

Author(s):

Vesna Mačić ◽

Egidio Trainito ◽

Slavica Petović

Keyword(s):

Adriatic Sea ◽

First Record ◽

Ecological Role ◽

Conservation Measures ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Specific Conservation

We present the first record of the endemic Mediterranean anthozoan Spinimuricea klavereni (Carpine & Grasshoff 1975) (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Plexauridae) for the Adriatic Sea (Boka Kotorska bay, Montenegro). A density of 0.72 colonies m-2 could be measured in the area, which was com-pared with the scant available data in the literature. Having in mind that this species is very rare and endemic for the Mediterranean, it is important to increase our knowledge on its distribution and biology in order to better assess its ecological role, the pending threats and the need for specific conservation measures.

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Ovipositor and mouthparts in a fossil insect support a novel ecological role for early orthopterans in 300 million years old forests

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.71006 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Lu Chen ◽

Jun-Jie Gu ◽

Qiang Yang ◽

Dong Ren ◽

Alexander Blanke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Phylogenetic Position ◽

Wing Venation ◽

Uptake System ◽

Ecological Role ◽

Insect Fauna ◽

Fossil Insect ◽

Early Diversification ◽

Extant Species ◽

Plant Foliage

A high portion of the earliest known insect fauna is composed of the so-called ‘lobeattid insects’, whose systematic affinities and role as foliage feeders remain debated. We investigated hundreds of samples of a new lobeattid species from the Xiaheyan locality using a combination of photographic techniques, including reflectance transforming imaging, geometric morphometrics, and biomechanics to document its morphology, and infer its phylogenetic position and ecological role. Ctenoptilus frequens sp. nov. possessed a sword-shaped ovipositor with valves interlocked by two ball-and-socket mechanisms, lacked jumping hind-legs, and certain wing venation features. This combination of characters unambiguously supports lobeattids as stem relatives of all living Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, katydids). Given the herein presented and other remains, it follows that this group experienced an early diversification and, additionally, occurred in high individual numbers. The ovipositor shape indicates that ground was the preferred substrate for eggs. Visible mouthparts made it possible to assess the efficiency of the mandibular food uptake system in comparison to a wide array of extant species. The new species was likely omnivorous which explains the paucity of external damage on contemporaneous plant foliage.

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Ovipositor and mouthparts in a fossil insect support a novel ecological role for early orthopterans in Pennsylvanian forests

10.1101/2021.06.18.448941 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lu Chen ◽

Jun-Jie Gu ◽

Qiang Yang ◽

Dong Ren ◽

Alexander Blanke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Geometric Morphometrics ◽

Phylogenetic Position ◽

Uptake System ◽

Ecological Role ◽

Food Uptake ◽

Fossil Insect ◽

Early Diversification ◽

Plant Foliage ◽

Recent Species

Lobeattid insects represented a high portion of the earliest known, Pennsylvanian insect faunas. However, their systematic affinities and their role as foliage feeders which severely influenced their ecosystems remain debated. We investigated hundreds of samples of a new lobeattid species from the Xiaheyan locality using Reflectance Transforming Imaging combined with geometric morphometrics in order to assess its morphology, infer its ecological role, and phylogenetic position. Ctenoptilus frequens sp. nov. possessed a sword-shaped ovipositor whose valves interlocked by two ball-and-socket mechanisms. This unambiguously supports lobeattids as stem-relatives of all Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, katydids). Given the herein presented and other remains, it follows that this group experienced an early diversification coupled with high levels of abundance. The ovipositor shape additionally indicates that ground was the preferred substrate for eggs. Visible mouthparts made it possible to assess the efficiency of the mandibular food uptake system in comparison to a wide array of recent species. The new species was omnivorous which explains the paucity of external damage on contemporaneous plant foliage.

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Morphological and molecular characterization of Hydrolithon rupestre (Corallinaceae, Corallinales, Rhodophyta): first report from the Mediterranean Sea

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.224.1.4 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 224 (1) ◽

pp. 59 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M.A. Wolf ◽

G. W. Maneveldt ◽

S. Kaleb ◽

I. Moro ◽

A. Falace

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Coralline Algae ◽

Phylogenetic Position ◽

Type Specimens ◽

First Report ◽

Cell Layers ◽

Identification Of Species ◽

Reproductive Material ◽

The Mediterranean

The genera Hydrolithon and Porolithon are the most discussed taxa of non-geniculate Corallinaceae, as well as the most poorly known. Anatomical observations based usually on thallus construction, number of epithallial cell layers, trichocyte arrangement, occurrence of vegetative filaments between the trichocytes, and presence/absence of cell fusions and secondary pit connections led to different interpretations mainly due to the lack of available reproductive material from type specimens. Recently molecular surveys on the phylogeny of the Corallinales supported the hypothesis of considering Hydrolithon and Porolithon as two distinct genera but, up to now, several taxonomic questions remain in part unanswered. For these reasons identification of species belonging to these genera is still very difficult and can often lead to misidentification of taxa. In this study we report the discovery of a species of the Hydrolithon group found along the coast of Vis Island, Croatia, Adriatic Sea. Samples were identified through morpho-anatomical examinations and the phylogenetic position of this species was investigated through molecular analyses based on the nuclear nSSU and the plastidial psbA markers. This finding represents the first report for the Mediterranean Sea of Hydrolithon rupestre, one of the few encrusting coralline algae reported to overgrow live corals. The species can represent a possible threat to populations of Adriatic scleractinian corals.

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Molecular characterization of 18S rDNA partial sequence in Microcosmus (Stolidobranchiata, Pyuridae)

Mediterranean Marine Science ◽

10.12681/mms.165 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 5

Author(s):

D. FULGIONE ◽

D. RIPPA ◽

A. DE LUCA ◽

M. MILONE

Keyword(s):

Molecular Phylogeny ◽

Molecular Characterization ◽

18S Rdna ◽

Maximum Parsimony ◽

Partial Sequence ◽

Phylogenetic Position ◽

Traditional Taxonomy ◽

The Mean ◽

The Mediterranean

We present a 18S rDNA based molecular phylogeny of two species of the genus Microcosmus (M. sulcatus and M. claudicans) sampled in the Mediterranean, to investigate their phylogenetic position relative to species of the order Stolidobranchiata. The analysis is based on partial sequences (739 bp) of the 18S rDNA. Among the 18 variable sites found between the two species, 4 correspond to transitions (ts), 14 to transversions (tv) and 4 to deletions/insertions. In the considered Stolidobranchiata, we found 4.3% overall mean number of nucleotide differences and 0.06 (S.E. ±0.01) Kimura 2-parameter distance. The mean number of nucleotide differences between Microcosmus spp. and other Stolidobranchiata species was of 6% and 0.08 (S.E. ±0.01) Kimura 2-parameter distance. A molecular phylogeny obtained by Maximum Parsimony corroborates results of the traditional taxonomy.

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First record of Marphysa chirigota (Annelida: Eunicidae) in the Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Tunis)

Mediterranean Marine Science ◽

10.12681/mms.25248 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

MARWA CHAIBI ◽

CHIARA ROMANO ◽

ATF AZZOUNA ◽

DANIEL MARTIN

Keyword(s):

16S Rrna ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

First Record ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Tunisian Coast ◽

Gulf Of Tunis ◽

Soft Bottoms ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Marphysa Sanguinea

To date, the genus Marphysa is represented by only three species, Marphysa sanguinea, Marphysa aegypti and Marphysa birgeri in the Mediterranean Sea. Combining morphological, molecular data (16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I mitochondrial loci) and environmental information, we are here presenting the first Mediterranean report of Marphysa chirigota, based on the specimens collected at Radès Station (Gulf of Tunis, western Mediterranean). The current information on the distribution of of the Marphysa species strongly supports that M. sanguinea inhabits hard bottoms and has a restricted distribution close to its type location (south English coast and nearby NE European Atlantic). The specimens from Radès Station, as well as all those reported as M. sanguinea along the Tunisian coast, were found in the shallow water soft bottoms. Therefore, we suggest that the presence of M. sanguinea in Tunisia seems is doubtful, and all Marphysa species reports from Tunisia might correspond to M. chirigota.

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