A new species of Esola Edwards, 1891 (Crustacea, Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Laophontidae) from the Caribbean coast of Colombia

A new species of the harpacticoid copepod genus Esola is described from specimens collected in Rodadero Beach, on Gaira Bay, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The species, E. wellsisp. nov., is described, illustrated, and com­pared with its congeners. Esola wellsisp. nov. differs from its known congeners in details of the armature of legs 1–4. It most closely resembles E. bulbifera (Norman, 1911) in the armature formula of P1–P5 but differs from the latter in several respects, including the female antennule segmentation (7-segmented in E. bulbifera but distinctly 6-segmented in E. wellsisp. nov.) and in the shape and size of the male P3ENP2 apophysis, among other characters. This is the second species of the genus known from the Caribbean and the second record of Esola in the Northwestern Tropical Atlantic. The genus now contains eight species. A key to the known species of the genus is also included.

On the occurrence of Antillesoma antillarum (Grube, 1858) (Sipuncula, Antillesomatidae) on the south-central part of the Colombian Caribbean coast

We document here the first confirmed report of the sipunculan worm Antillesoma antillarum (Grube, 1858) based on freshly collected, taxonomically verified specimens from the south-central Colombian Caribbean coast. This species was encountered on massive coralline rocks, coral rubble, and coral boulder at San Antero. We briefly describe and illustrate this species and provide notes on its distribution, ecology, and habitat.

Rugitermes ursulae (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae), a new drywood termite from the Caribbean coast of Colombia

Rugitermes ursulaesp. nov. is described from a sample collected inside a dead branch in a tropical dry forest of Colombia’s Caribbean coast using molecular information and external morphological characters of the imago and soldier castes. Rugitermes ursulaesp. nov. soldiers and imagoes are the smallest among all described Rugitermes species. The imago’s head capsule coloration is dark castaneous, while the pronotum is contrastingly pale yellow. Our description includes soldier characters, such as subflangular elevation and shape of the antennal sockets, that can help in identification of samples lacking imagoes.

Quantifying Illegal Extraction of Sea Turtles in Costa Rica

Estimates of illegal wildlife trade vary significantly and are often based on incomplete datasets, inferences from CITES permits or customs seizures. As a result, annual global estimates of illegal wildlife trade can vary by several billions of US dollars. Translating these figures into species extraction rates is equally challenging, and estimating illegal take accurately is not achievable for many species. Due to their nesting strategies that allow for census data collection, sea turtles offer an exception. On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, three sea turtle species (leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea; green, Chelonia mydas; and hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata) are exploited by poachers. Despite the consumption of turtle eggs and meat being illegal, they are consumed as a cultural food source and seasonal treat. Conservation programmes monitor nesting beaches, collect abundance data and record poaching events. Despite the availability of robust long-term datasets, quantifying the rate of poaching has yet to be undertaken. Using data from the globally important nesting beach, Tortuguero, as well as beaches Playa Norte and Pacuare on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, we modelled the spatial and temporal distribution of poaching of the three sea turtle species. Here, we present data from 2006 to 2019 on a stretch of coastline covering c.37 km. We identified poaching hotspots that correlated with populated areas. While the poaching hotspots persisted over time, we found poaching is declining at each of our sites. However, we urge caution when interpreting this result as the impact of poaching varies between species. Given their low abundance on these beaches, the poaching pressure on leatherback and hawksbill turtles is far greater than the impact on the abundant green turtles. We attribute the decline in poaching to supply-side conservation interventions in place at these beaches. Finally, we highlight the value of data sharing and collaborations between conservation NGOs.