Oxygen Isotope Equilibrium of the Shallow-Water Benthic Foraminifer Hanzawaia nipponica Asano in Tosa Bay, Southwest Japan

Oxygen isotopic compositions (δ18O) of benthic foraminifer tests are widely used for reconstructing paleoceanographic changes, such as global ice volumes during glacial–interglacial cycles. Although deep-sea benthic foraminifers have been well characterized and are considered reliable indicators, little attention has been paid to the geochemistry of shallow-water benthic foraminifers. In this study we evaluated δ18O in the shallow-water benthic foraminifer Hanzawaia nipponica Asano, which lives in surface sediments on continental shelves and upper slopes under the influence of two warm currents, the Kuroshio and Tsushima currents, in the East China Sea, northwest Pacific, and southwestern Japan Sea. To evaluate oxygen isotope equilibrium, we analyzed δ18O of H. nipponica and ambient seawater on the continental shelf in Tosa Bay, southwest Japan. Seawater δ18O and salinity in Tosa Bay are similar to those of surface and subsurface waters in the Kuroshio region in the Okinawa Trough and the northwest Pacific. Vertical profiles of seawater δ18O show no variation with water depth (0–200 m) in Tosa Bay. However, tests of living H. nipponica (as determined by staining with Rose Bengal) and fossil (non-stained) H. nipponica, picked from samples of the top centimeter of seafloor sediment, yielded carbonate δ18O values that clearly increase with water depth, suggesting a temperature-dependent relationship. A comparison of carbonate δ18O values in living H. nipponica and those predicted on the basis of seawater δ18O and annual mean bottom temperature shows that H. nipponica tests are in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with ambient seawater. We determined the linear equations of δ18O–temperature relationship, and the slope of −5.26 (0.19‰°C−1) for living and −4.50 (0.22‰°C−1) for the fossil H. nipponica, respectively. The carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of H. nipponica also closely match seawater δ13C. Thus, we propose that the carbonate δ18O and δ13C of H. nipponica are useful proxies to reconstruct shallow-water paleoenvironmental changes in the northwest Pacific and its marginal seas.

A new species of snailfish of the genus Paraliparis (Liparidae) from the western North Pacific, with a redescription of the poorly known species Paraliparis mandibularis

A new snailfish, Paraliparis flammeus, is described on the basis of 18 specimens collected off the Pacific coast of Tohoku District, northern Japan at depths of 422–890 m. The new species is distinguished from 28 species of Paraliparis described from the North Pacific by the following combination of characters: mouth oblique; uppermost pectoral-fin base below horizontal through posterior margin of maxillary; 60–63 vertebrae, 54–58 dorsal-fin rays, 50 or 51 anal-fin rays, six principal caudal-fin rays, and 17–20 pectoral-fin rays. A maximum likelihood tree based on 106 COI gene sequences (492 bp) of Paraliparis recovered a monophyletic group comprising P. flammeus, Paraliparis cephalus, and Paraliparis dipterus. Paraliparis cephalus is similar to P. flammeus in having an oblique mouth, but it has four caudal-fin rays (vs six rays) and the uppermost pectoral-fin base above a horizontal through the maxillary posterior margin. Paraliparis dipterus differs from P. flammeus in having a horizontal mouth, 12–14 pectoral-fin rays, and lacking pyloric caeca (present in P. flammeus). Paraliparis flammeus is most similar to the eastern North Pacific Paraliparis mento in having an oblique mouth and the uppermost pectoral-fin base below a horizontal through the posterior margin of the maxillary. However, P. flammeus differs from P. mento in having six caudal-fin rays (vs five rays) and greater preanal length (29.9–35.3% SL vs 26.7–28.5% SL). A poorly known species, Paraliparis mandibularis, previously known from only two specimens collected from Tosa Bay, southern Japan, is redescribed based on the holotype and seven newly collected specimens. It is also similar to the new species but has 27–30 pectoral-fin rays and a shorter pectoral-fin lower lobe (13.8–15.9% SL in P. mandibularis vs 16.7–23.4% SL in P. flammeus).

A new genus for “Neocallichirus” grandis Karasawa & Goda, 1996, a ghost shrimp species (Decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae) heretofore known only by fossil materials

A new genus of the family Callianassidae, Laticallichirus, is established for “Neocallichirus” grandis Karasawa & Goda, 1996, a ghost shrimp species heretofore represented only by fossil materials from the middle to upper Pleistocene of Japan. The newly collected specimens came from two Japanese localities: Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture (Suruga Bay) and Tosa, Kochi Prefecture (Tosa Bay), included within the known geographical range derived from fossil records. The species identification was based on the close agreement in the cheliped morphology and the known fossil distributions. The new genus is assigned to the subfamily Callichirinae Manning & Felder, 1991, and compared with seven genera, Balsscallichirus Sakai, 2011, Callichirus Stimpson, 1866, Callichiropsis Sakai, 2010, Grynaminna Poore, 2000, Michaelcallianassa Sakai, 2002, Lepidophthalmus Holmes, 1904 and Podocallichirus Sakai, 1999, all characterized by the antennular peduncle being longer and stouter than the antennal peduncle. The new genus is characteristic in combination of the following characters: rostrum spiniform; maxilliped 3 devoid of exopod; ischium-merus of maxilliped 3 broadly operculiform; maxilliped 3 ischium devoid of crista dentata; major cheliped devoid of meral hook or associated lobe-like structure; tergites of the pleomeres 3–5 without conspicuous ornamentation; male pleopod 2 biramous, its endopod devoid of appendices interna and masculina; uropodal endopod suboval in shape; telson distinctly wider than long, with shallowly concave posterior margin. The genetic analysis using the mitochondrial 16S rRNA places the new genus as sister to Callichirus Stimpson, 1866, although bootstrap support for major branches is generally low. The newly collected specimens were found in burrows in soft sediments of shallow subtidal zone being accessible at low tide.