First records of two species of reef-associated mantis shrimps (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) from India

The coastal marine environments in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone harbour a rich diversity of mantis shrimps. However, several regions have not been adequately surveyed for their stomatopod faunal composition. In this paper, we report the first records of two species, Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902) and Cloridina malaccensis (Manning, 1968) from Indian waters. Samples were collected using a chain dredge deployed by the Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel Sagar Sampada on the shallow reefs (53–56 m depths) of the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal during August–November 2019. Gonodactylopsis drepanophora was previously known only from Indonesia, and Cloridina malaccensis from Southeast Asia, New Caledonia and Madagascar.

Teasing Apart Impacts of Human Activity and Regional Drought on Madagascar’s Large Vertebrate Fauna: Insights From New Excavations at Tsimanampesotse and Antsirafaly

Madagascar experienced a major faunal turnover near the end of the first millenium CE that particularly affected terrestrial, large-bodied vertebrate species. Teasing apart the relative impacts of people and climate on this event requires a focus on regional records with good chronological control. These records may document coeval changes in rainfall, faunal composition, and human activities. Here we present new paleontological and paleoclimatological data from southwestern Madagascar, the driest part of the island today. We collected over 1500 subfossil bones from deposits at a coastal site called Antsirafaly and from both flooded and dry cave deposits at Tsimanampesotse National Park. We built a chronology of Late Holocene changes in faunal assemblages based on 65 radiocarbon-dated specimens and subfossil associations. We collected stalagmites primarily within Tsimanampesotse but also at two additional locations in southern Madagascar. These provided information regarding hydroclimate variability over the past 120,000 years. Prior research has supported a primary role for drought (rather than humans) in triggering faunal turnover at Tsimanampesotse. This is based on evidence of: (1) a large freshwater ecosystem west of what is now the hypersaline Lake Tsimanampesotse, which supported freshwater mollusks and waterfowl (including animals that could not survive on resources offered by the hypersaline lake today); (2) abundant now-extinct terrestrial vertebrates; (3) regional decline or disappearance of certain tree species; and (4) scant local human presence. Our new data allow us to document the hydroclimate of the subarid southwest during the Holocene, as well as shifts in faunal composition (including local extirpations, large-vertebrate population collapse, and the appearance of introduced species). These records affirm that climate alone cannot have produced the observed vertebrate turnover in the southwest. Human activity, including the introduction of cattle, as well as associated changes in habitat exploitation, also played an important role.

Biodiversity of vertebrates on the territory of deforestation in the Vologda Region

The paper presents the results of biodiversity assessment on the territories with different ecological conditions. The studies were carried out on the territories during the reforestation period after the anthropogenic load associated with deforestation, as test sites (PP) and forest biogeocenoses adjacent to deforestation and not affected by forestry activities - control (K). The research methods are indicated. The Jacquard and Stugren-Radulescu coefficients, as well as the Sorensen-Chekanovsky and Kulchinsky indices were used to assess the biodiversity. During the survey of the territories, 32 species of animals were found: 1 species belongs to the class of amphibians, 5 - reptiles, 13 - birds and 13 - mammals. The list of the faunal composition of the studied territories is given. As a result of the conducted studies it has been revealed that the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the faunal composition directly depend on the derived type of forest, the method of deforestation and the environmental conditions prevailing on this territory. Of the territories considered, the greatest faunal diversity (19 species) was observed on the territories with 12-year-old-cut-down forest, with moderately moist soils and predominant floristic diversity. Based on the calculation of the indices and coefficients of similarity and difference, the similarity of the species faunal diversity has been revealed on the territories of mixed-grass and blue joint fellings as well as in the control areas of lingonberry pine. The difference from all the sample areas has been revealed in the meadowsweet felling (PP1) and the adjacent forest biogeocenosis - grass-marsh pine forest.

Macrobenthos diversity along the Exclusive Economic Zone of East Coast Peninsular Malaysia

Aim: To examine the standing stock of macrobenthos along a depth gradient at regional scales in the Sunda Shelf of Malaysian Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ). Methodology: Macrobenthos was sampled with a Smith–McIntyre grab at 19 stations on the continental shelf of the South-western South China Sea (east coast of Peninsular Malaysia) within the EEZ and was carried out onboard MV SEAFDEC II in May/June 2016. Results: The faunal composition, abundance, and diversity of species, together with environmental parameters were studied. A total of 10,232 individuals comprising 105 families were identified. The dominant macrobenthic group was Mollusca (55.25%), followed by Annelida (26.80%) and Arthropoda (15.36%), while the Echinodermata and Miscellaneous group recorded 1.13% and 1.43% respectively. Based on Bray-Curtis species similarities, five different sample groups (SGs) were distinguished, which were located in different zones and gradients of EEZ. Interpretation: Variations in the macrobenthic community is significantly associated with depth, temperature, and salinity. Further research should be conducted on other factors that contribute to the diversity of macrobenthos along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia’s EEZ.

The late Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) ammonoid Amaltheus in Japan: systematics and biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic significance

The genus Amaltheus, one of the representative late Pliensbachian ammonoids, has biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic significance in Japan. Four species, Amaltheus stokesi (Sowerby, 1818), A. margaritatus de Montfort, 1808, A. repressus Dagis, 1976, and A. orientalis new species, have been found in the Kuruma Group in central Japan; A. stokesi and A. margaritatus are also from the Toyora Group in southwest Japan. On the basis of taxonomic analysis of the genus Amaltheus, we distinguish two successive ammonoid biozones in the lower part of the Teradani Formation of the Kuruma Group: the Amaltheus stokesi–Amaltheus repressus and the Amaltheus margaritatus assemblage zones, in stratigraphic ascending order. This study also establishes the presence of the Amaltheus stokesi Assemblage Zone in the Higashinagano Formation of the Toyora Group. The stokesi–repressus and the stokesi assemblage zones correspond biostratigraphically to the Amaltheus stokesi Standard Subzone of the margaritatus Zone. The margaritatus Assemblage Zone is correlated with the Amaltheus subnodosus and Amaltheus gibbosus standard subzones. The Japanese early–middle late Pliensbachian ammonoid faunas are composed almost entirely of pan-Boreal and Arctic species of the genus Amaltheus. This faunal composition has an affinity with that of the Northeast Russian region, and thus suggests a strong paleobiogeographic relationship between East Asian and Northeast Russian faunas throughout this time interval. UUID: http://zoobank.org/5F08121F-1DAF-4B24-BCBE-B08F7101CF29

Sauropterygian remains from the Middle Triassic of Villány, Hungary—new information on the aquatic reptile fauna of Tisza Megaunit (Triassic southern Eurasian shelf region)

Sauropterygia was a diverse clade of secondary aquatic reptiles, which represented one of the most important vertebrate groups in the shallow marine communities during the Triassic. However, despite the long history of collection and examination of sauropterygian remains, previous studies have indicated that the fossil record of this group is incomplete, making the understanding of their palaeobiogeographic relations difficult. Here we describe new sauropterygian remains from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Templomhegy Dolomite Member (Villány, southern Hungary), which were unearthed during systematic fieldwork of previous years. Among several non-diagnostic sauropterygian remains, this material contains isolated bones belonging to Nothosaurus sp., Simosauridae indet. and a small-sized nothosaurid. The known faunal composition from Villány is similar to what was described from the Middle Triassic of the Germanic Basin and Bihor Mountains (northwestern Romania). Besides isolated elements, a probably associated skeleton of a small-sized eosauropterygian specimen of unknown affinities is also reported here. This locality widens our knowledge on Triassic sauropterygian distribution and provides new information about the previously not well-known Middle Triassic vertebrate fauna of the one-time southern Eurasian shelf region.

Insights from big data into the fossilization potential of marine communities

<p>Only a small percentage of all life that ever existed is preserved in the rock record. Some animals and environments are particularly unlikely to fossilize—e.g., soft-bodied organisms and high-energy habitats—biasing fossil deposit faunal composition and resultant inferences about macroevolution and macroecology. To estimate the extent of information loss caused by non-preservation we compared diversity data in over 20,000 modern marine assemblages (Ocean Biogeographic Information System; OBIS) with fossil occurrence data (Paleobiology Database; PBDB) to yield a global assessment of assemblage-level fossilization potential as it varies across depth, habitats, and environments. We used two different metrics, taxon fossilization potential and within-environment fossilization potential, to assess the proportion of taxa in a modern community with PBDB occurrences or with PBDB occurrences in the same environment, respectively. Averaged across all 20,000+ marine assemblages, mean taxon fossilization potential is 38% and mean values vary between environments: from 34% in shallow and deep water, 44% in coral reefs, 51% on seamounts, to 15% in pelagic assemblages. Mean within-environment fossilization potential, in contrast, does not exceed 32% (in shallow water), a lower value than that obtained in other studies, and may approach zero (on seamounts and pelagic environments). Differences between these two metrics indicate the large control of environment on fossilization potential. Our results provide a means to include and compare palaeoecological dynamics across a broader range of settings in the fossil record, while accounting for differences in fossilization potential among environments.</p>

Malacofaunal inventory in Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary, West Bengal, India

The knowledge on the floral and faunal composition of protected areas (PAs) is crucial for formulating suitable conservation plan. In this paper, inventory and species richness of non-marine molluscs of Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary has been made and is for the first time from any PA of West Bengal. A total of 276 specimens belonging to 22 species (10 species of land snails and 12 species of freshwater) of non-marine molluscs (land and freshwater) were collected and examined from this sanctuary. The malacofaunal inventory comprises of nine genera under seven families among land snails and 12 genera & seven families from both gastropods & bivalves under the freshwater forms. As far as species richness is concerned, the family Ariophantidae was found to be dominant among land forms whereas species of the families Thiaridae and Unionidae were dominant among freshwater forms.

EARLY–MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN SEASCAPE-SCALE AGGREGATION PATTERN OF SPONGE-RICH REEFS ACROSS THE LAURENTIA PALEOCONTINENT

ABSTRACT During the late Cambrian–Early Ordovician interval the predominant non-microbial reef builders were sponges or sponge-like metazoans. The lithological and faunal composition of Cambro-Ordovician sponge-dominated reefs have previously been analyzed and reviewed. Here we take the relationship between reef aggregation pattern at reef to seascape scale into account, and look for changes during the Early–Middle Ordovician interval, in which metazoans became dominant reef builders. In a comparison of sponge-rich reefs from eight sites of the Laurentia paleocontinent three different seascape level reef growth patterns can be distinguished: (1) mosaic mode of reef growth, where reefs form a complex spatial mosaic dependent on hard substrate; (2) episodic mode, where patch reefs grew exclusively in distinct unconformity bounded horizons within non-reefal lithological units that have a much larger thickness; and (3) belt-and-bank mode, where reefs and reef complexes grew vertically and laterally as dispersed patches largely independent from truncation surfaces. The distinct modes of growth likely represent specific reef forming paleocommunities, because they differ in content and abundance of skeletal metazoan framebuilders, bioturbation intensity of non-skeletal reef sediment matrix, and in association of reef growth with underlying hard substrate. We suggest, based on a review of Laurentian reef occurrences, that the mosaic mode dominated in Early Ordovician strata and that the dominance shifted toward the belt and bank mode from Middle Ordovician strata onward.