Genetic structure of the wide-ranging fiddler crabUca crassipesin the west Pacific region

Author(s):  
Misuzu Aoki ◽  
Keiji Wada

The genetic relationship between fiddler crabUca crassipespopulations from the continental coast, continental islands, and oceanic islands in the west Pacific was investigated using 1039 bp (base pairs)-long combined 12Sr-RNA–16Sr-RNA sequences and a 504-bp mitochondrial DNA control region. The combined 12Sr-RNA–16Sr-RNA sequences indicated that the Vietnamese population, located along the continental coast, and the Chichi-jima population, which is located on an oceanic island north of the Northern Mariana Islands, formed different clades than populations from the other Ryukyu Islands and Moorea Island. Conversely, the Ryukyu Islands and Moorea Island populations exhibited a close genetic relationship, although the mtDNA control region indicated significant differentiation between the Ryukyu Islands and Moorea Island populations. The isolated Vietnam and Chichi-jima populations exhibited higher genetic diversity in the control region than the other populations.

PhytoKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Takuro Ito ◽  
Chih-Chieh Yu ◽  
Masatsugu Yokota ◽  
Goro Kokubugata

We re-examined the taxonomic status of plants treated as Sedum formosanum (Crassulaceae) from Miyako-jima Island of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, using morphological comparison and molecular phylogenetic analyses with related species. In morphology, plants from Miyako-jima Island bore a close resemblance to the other plants of S. formosanum, but differed in being perennial, polycarpic, and having lateral axillary branches. Molecular analyses based on ITS of nrDNA and six regions of cpDNA sequencing indicated that the Miyako-jima plants formed a distinct subclade. This subclade was part of a polytomy with three other subclades comprising nine taxa endemic to Taiwan and S. formosanum from other areas, including the type locality. Therefore, we propose and describe the Miyako-jima plants as a new subspecies, Sedum formosanum subsp. miyakojimense.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Pfingstl ◽  
Maximilian Wagner ◽  
Shimpei F. Hiruta ◽  
Stephan Koblmüller ◽  
Wataru Hagino ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Japanese islands represent one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Their geological history and present geography resulted in a high number of endemic species in nearly all major metazoan clades. We investigated the phylogeography of three different intertidal mite species from the Ryukyu islands and southern mainland by means of morphometry and molecular genetics. None of the species represents an endemic, nearly all show distributions ranging over at least the southern and central Ryukyus. Two species, Fortuynia shibai and F. churaumi sp. n. clearly represent sister species that are derived from a common Eastern ancestor. Molecular genetic results indicate that these species separated approx. 3 Ma before the opening of the Okinawa trough, whereas F. shibai most likely showed an ancestral distribution stretching from the central Ryukyus across the Tokara strait to Japanese mainland, whereas F. churaumi probably evolved somewhere south of the Tokara strait. Phylogenetic data further indicates that long periods of isolation resulted in heterogeneous genetic structure but subsequent low sea level stands during Pleistocene allowed recent expansion and gene flow between island populations. Comparing these patterns with those of other animals, these tiny wingless mites apparently show better dispersal abilities than partially volant terrestrial organism groups.


Author(s):  
Boris I. Sirenko ◽  
Hiroshi Saito

Two new species of the family Leptochitonidae, Leptochiton pumilus sp. nov. and Terenochiton nomurai sp. nov. are described from the tropical and subtropical shallow waters of the West Pacific. L. pumilus from the Philippines and Papua New Guinea has a net-like sculpture on the shell which is rather rare feature in the genus. In this genus, so far only three species have hitherto been known in the tropical shallow waters, in contrast to more than 130 other extant species which are living in the deep cold waters and high latitudes. T. nomurai from Ryukyu Islands is the second representative of the genus Terenochiton Iredale, 1914 which was recently reinstated for Leptochiton norfolcensis (Hedley et Hull, 1912), and is characterized by having rudiments of the insertion plates in all valves. T. nomurai closely resembles the type species, but differs in the arrangement of the aesthete pores on the granules of the tegmentum, and less developed rudiments of the insertion plates. Key words: chitons, Leptochiton, Terenochiton, new species, the Philippines, Japan, Papua New Guinea. Описаны два новых вида семейства Leptochitonidae, Leptochiton pumilus sp. nov. и Terenochiton nomurai sp. nov. из тропических и субтропических мелководий западной Пацифики. L. pumilus c Филиппин и Папуа – Новой Гвинеи имеет сетчатовидную скульптуру на раковине, что является довольно редким признаком в этом роде. В этом роде только три вида известны до настоящего времени в тропических мелководьях, в противоположность более чем 130 другим современным видам, которые живут в глубоких холодных водах и в высоких широтах. T. nomurai из островов Рюкю является вторым представителем рода Terenochiton Iredale, 1914, который был недавно восстановлен для Leptochiton norfolcensis (Hedley et Hull, 1912) и характеризуется наличием рудиментов инсерционных пластинок на всех щитках. T. nomurai сходен с типовым видом рода, но отличается расположением пор эстетов на зернах тегментума и менее развитыми рудиментами инсерционных пластинок. Ключевые слова: хитоны, Leptochiton, Terenochiton, новые виды, Филиппины, Япония, Папуа Новая Гвинея.


Author(s):  
Yoh Ihara ◽  
Naoki Koike ◽  
Takafumi Nakano

The epigean spiders of the genus Cybaeus L. Koch, 1868 are known to have diversified in western North America and the Japanese Archipelago. To date, ~80 species of Cybaeus are known from Japan, but they have not previously been recorded from the Ryukyu Islands that harbour a diversity of endemic species. Here we describe eight new species of Cybaeus from the Ryukyu Islands, extending the range of Cybaeus southward to the central Ryukyus. Both sexes of each of the new species are described, and their phylogenetic relationships are estimated using nuclear and mitochondrial gene markers. Although Cybaeus okumurai, sp. nov. and C. kumadori, sp. nov. possess genital features that are common in the other Japanese congeners, the other six species (C. yakushimensis, sp. nov., C. kodama, sp. nov., C. amamiensis, sp. nov., C. aikana, sp. nov., C. tokunoshimensis, sp. nov., and C. hikidai, sp. nov.) are characterised by an elongated embolus and tubular spermathecae. These unique genital characteristics and the phylogeny recovered here suggest that these features evolved independently among the Japanese and Ryukyu Cybaeus species. Phylogenetic analyses highlight an unusual biogeographical pattern in which C. yakushimensis and C. kodama endemic to Yakushima Island in the northern Ryukyus are related to species distributed in the central Ryukyus. In contrast, our phylogeny suggests that C. okumurai from Tanegashima Island in the northern Ryukyus is sister to C. ashikitaensis (Komatsu, 1968), distributed in Kyushu of the Japanese Archipelago. The retreat constructs and sympatric distribution of Cybaeus found among the Ryukyus are also briefly discussed. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:640D15AA-17F4-48EE-88B4-485CFF8FCD60


Author(s):  
Stefano Romagnoli

This paper focuses on the writings of Hino Ashihei (1907-1960) about Okinawa, a corpus of twelve works composed over a period of sixteen years that were inspired by three visits to the Ryūkyū Islands. Hino is best known as a writer of war novels, but these twelve works have received almost no attention, partly because they are not considered Okinawan literature since Hino was a native of Kyūshū. The aim of this article is to show that Okinawa is not merely a setting for these neglected writings but rather a complex representation that incorporates the author’s gaze, his stance toward the region, and a topography of power. Moreover, this representation evolved over time to produce an array of at times contrasting images of Okinawa, whether as a tropical paradise, the shield of the nation, or a symbol of its occupation. On the other hand, the narrator’s stance, which is characterised at first by the strength and assertiveness of a first-person narrator, underwent a progressive disengagement that was intended, by this article’s interpretation, to introduce greater objectivity into Hino’s prose.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4377 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
MASANORI OKANISHI ◽  
YOSHIHISA FUJITA

Two new species, Ophiolepis cavitata n. sp. and Ophiozonella cavernalis n. sp., are described from the specimens collected in shallow water submarine caves in the Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan. Ophiolepis cavitata n. sp. is distinguished from the other congeners in having prominent tubercle-shaped knobs on dorsal arm plates; two sizes of disc scales on the aboral disc, the larger surrounded by 3–8 times smaller disc scales; larger scales concave; radial shields wider than long; a trio of distinct scales present distal to each pair of radial shields; oral shields partly concave; 3 arm spines on proximal portion of the arms. Ophiozonella cavernalis n. sp. is distinguished from the other congeners in having polygonal, uniform size disc scales; oral shields almost as long as wide, shallow concave proximal sides that end in a fairly sharp point medially; arms about 9 times longer than disc diameter; 3 cylindrical arm spines, of which the oral most one is slightly larger than other 2 spines. Ophiozonella cavernalis n. sp. is the second finding of an anchialine-endemic ophiuroid and the first finding from the Pacific Ocean. 


2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bixia Chen ◽  
Gengi Kurima ◽  
Yuei Nakama

AbstractIn a typical Ryukyu "Feng Shui" village, a forest belt, known as village Ho:go, was planted to curve in the front and extend to the east and the west to embrace the village along with preserved forest on the rear hill. Lines of Fukugi trees (Garcinia subelliptica) were planted to embrace the houses. Compared to the more symbolic existence of Feng Shui trees in China and other regions in East Asia, tree planting on a large scale was used as a practical means to repair defective topography with little protection from the strict natural condition on Ryuku's flat islands. This study focuses on village layout, forest composition in the front forest belt, habitat embracing trees, and forest plantations on the back hill. Garcinia subelliptica and Calophyllum inophyllum are the predominant species in the upper storey in the forest belt. A large number of species are also found in the under storey vegetation in the preserved forest. Thus, a Ryukyu Feng Shui village landscape, which embodies a symbiosis of the nature and human intervention, provides an ideal village landscape pattern in the Ryukyu Islands.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4450 (4) ◽  
pp. 458
Author(s):  
TOMOMI SAITO ◽  
YOSHIHISA FUJITA

A new species of the stenopodidean shrimp genus Odontozona Holthuis, 1946 is described and illustrated on the basis of 3 specimens recently collected from submarine caves of Okinawa-jima and Ie-jima Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan, Indo-West Pacific. Odontozona okunoi sp. nov. closely resembles O. anaphorae Manning & Chace, 1990 described from Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean, but differs from it by a combination of morphological characters, including the large cardiac spine on the carapace, the spines on the pleural surface, the posterior tooth of the telson, the irregular row of small spines on the dorsomesial surface of the third pereopod chela, as well as the length ratio of the third pereopod chela against carpus and merus. This study increases the total number of species described in the genus Odontozona to 21, nine of which occur the Indo-West Pacific. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3367 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAMMY DE GRAVE ◽  
TIN-YAM CHAN ◽  
Y. FUJITA ◽  
JUNJI OKUNO

The present report deals with caridean shrimps from the families Hippolytidae (7 species) and Barbouriidae (1 species)collected during the KUMEJIMA 2009 expedition in the Ryukyu Islands. The deep-water hippolytid Gelastreutescrosnieri Bruce, 1990 is recorded from Kumejima based on a single female specimen, representing a considerable rangeextension of this species from New Caledonia to Japan. The opportunity is also taken to record and illustrate the firstknown male specimen of G. crosnieri, collected during the SANTO 2006 expedition off West Mavéa Island, Vanuatu. Thecolour pattern of G. crosnieri is shown for the first time. The Kumejima and Vanuatu specimens present noticeabledifferences in both morphology and colouration, but appear to be conspecific based on comparison of the barcoding geneCOI sequences. The recently described Lysmata lipkei Okuno & Fielder, 2010 is recorded for the second time, however,not representing a significant range extension of this species. The other species reported are Saron marmoratus (Olivier,1811), Saron neglectus De Man, 1902, Thinora maldivensis (Borradaile, 1915), Thor amboinensis (De Man, 1888), Tozeuma armatum Paul’son, 1875 (Hippolytidae), and Parhippolyte misticia (Clark, 1989) (Barbouriidae).


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