A Preliminary Phylogenetic Analysis ofLuidia （Paxillosida： Luidiidae） from Chinese Waters with Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I （COI） Sequences

Luidia Forbes （Paxillosida： Luidiidae） are common soft bottom sea stars with 49 described species. Because of substan- tial morphological diversity, the taxonomy of the genus is complex and hasn＇t been resolved definitely. In order to resolve general taxonomic issues, and determine species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships within the genus Luidia, the sequences of tyro- chrome oxidase subunit I （COI） gene from 24 specimens of Luidia, belonging to eight taxa in Chinese waters, were studied. Three sequences of two species in genus Luidia from GenBank were used to analyze the phylogenetie relationships. The molecular phy- logeny exhibited three main clades, each with strong bootstrap support： Clade A including Luidia quinaria from the Sea of Japan; Clade B including seven nominal species （L. quinaria von Martens, L. yesoensis Goto, L. ehangi Liu, Liao and Li, L. orientalis Fisher, L. avicularia Fisher, L. longispina Sladen and L. hardwicki Gray） from Chinese waters; and Clade C including L. maculata Miiller ＆ Troschel from Chinese waters. Our molecular phylogeny results support the morphological Quinaria-Group and Alter- nata-Group assigned by D6derlein. Seven nominal species we sampled do not exhibit genetic distances that are large enough to rec- ognize them as separate species. Cryptic species may exist in ＇Luidia quinaria＇ from the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. Meaning- ful morphological characters need further investigation in Luidia.     

AreAcila divaricata and Acila mirabilis One Species or Two Distinct Species？ Evidence from COI Mitochondrial DNA

Acila divaricata （Hinds, 1843） and A. mirabilis （Adams and Reeve, 1850） are common benthic bivalves in China. A number of researchers have proposed that the latter species is a junior synonym of the former species. Because of morphological similarities, it is difficult to distinguish these two species based on visual examination only. For better understanding of their taxon-omy, the mitochondrial CO1 gene fragments of five individuals of A. divaricata from the East China Sea and six individuals of A. mirabilis from the Yellow Sea were sequenced in this study. The phylogenetic relationships of the obtained COI sequences, together with nineteen sequences of three species of the genus Nucula, were analyzed. The pairwise intra- and inter-specific distances for the CO1 sequences ranged from 0.002 to 0.017 and from 0.128 to 0.134, respectively, and no overlap was found. Phylogenetically, A. divaricata and A. mirabilis form distinct clades and cluster into a sister to all other Nucula species. The results indicated that A. di-varicata and A. mirabilis are two distinct species. The differences in the morphology and distribution between the two species were briefly discussed.     

Galatheid squat lobster species from Chinese waters

Five galatheid squat lobster species belonging to four genera of two galatheid families are reported for the first time from Chinese waters, namely Lauriea simulata Macpherson and Robainas- Barcia, 2013, Phylladiorhynchus ikedai （Miyake and Baba, 1965）, Phylladiorhynchus integrirostris （Dana, 1852）, Babamunida sp., and Raymunida elegantissima （de Man, 1902）. The genera Lauriea Baba, 1971 and Babamunida Cabezas, Macpherson, and Machordom, 2008 have not previously been recorded from Chinese waters.     

A new radiolarian species Clathrocorys gracilis from northern South China Sea

A new species, Clathrocorys gracilis nov. spec., of Tripocyrtidae （Radiolarians： Nassellaria） from surface water in northern South China Sea, is described in this paper. The new species has four radial beams arising from the cephalic base centre, each foot with cup-shaped structure and ramified bar in the proximal section （near cephalic base）, and each wing with a large mesh in the middle, a medium mesh and a small mesh on each side respectively.     

Report of Pontoniinae Shrimps （Crustacea： Decapoda） Collected by Joint Chinese-German Marine Biology Expeditions to Hainan Island, South China Sea. Ⅲ. PericHmenes

The present paper reports 12 species of genus Periclimenes, subfamily Pontoniinae, collected from Hainan Island, South China Sea, by the Joint Chinese-German Marine Biology Expeditions, in which, Periclimenes consobrinus and P. tenuipes are new records from Chinese waters, and Periclimenes amymone, P. holthuisi, P. soror, and P. toloensis are recorded for the first time from Hainan Island.     

First report of the genus Lysippe Malmgren, 1866 (Polychaeta: Ampharetidae) from Chinese waters

The ampharetid genus Lysippe Malmgren, 1866 is reported for the first time from Chinese waters. The identification was based on material deposited in the Marine Biological Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Qingdao). A new species, Lysippe trichobranchia sp. nov. is described. The new species is widely distributed in shallow waters of the Bohai Gulf, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea at depths of 10-40 m.     

Review of Anobothrus (Polychaeta: Ampharetidae) from China

We reviewed ampharetid genus Anobothrus Levinsen, 1884 in China seas based upon material deposited in the Marine Biological Museum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Qingdao). The genus includes A. glandularis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1965), A. gracilis (Malmgren, 1866), A. mironovi Jirkov, 2008 and A. nataliae (Jirkov, 2008). A. glandularis and A. mironovi are recorded for the first time in Chinese waters. A key to Chinese species of Anobothrus is given.     

A preliminary phylogenetic analysis of Luidia (Paxillosida: Luidiidae) from Chinese waters with cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences

Luidia Forbes (Paxillosida: Luidiidae) are common soft bottom sea stars with 49 described species. Because of substantial morphological diversity, the taxonomy of the genus is complex and hasn’t been resolved definitely. In order to resolve general taxonomic issues, and determine species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships within the genus Luidia, the sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene from 24 specimens of Luidia, belonging to eight taxa in Chinese waters, were studied. Three sequences of two species in genus Luidia from GenBank were used to analyze the phylogenetic relationships. The molecular phylogeny exhibited three main clades, each with strong bootstrap support: Clade A including Luidia quinaria from the Sea of Japan; Clade B including seven nominal species (L. quinaria von Martens, L. yesoensis Goto, L. changi Liu, Liao and Li, L. orientalis Fisher, L. avicularia Fisher, L. longispina Sladen and L. hardwicki Gray) from Chinese waters; and Clade C including L. maculata Müller & Troschel from Chinese waters. Our molecular phylogeny results support the morphological Quinaria-Group and Alternata-Group assigned by Döderlein. Seven nominal species we sampled do not exhibit genetic distances that are large enough to recognize them as separate species. Cryptic species may exist in’ Luidia quinaria’ from the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. Meaningful morphological characters need further investigation in Luidia.     

A new record of a flathead fish (Teleostei: Platycephalidae) from China based on morphological characters and DNA barcoding

A new record of Platycephalus sp.1 (sensu Nakabo, 2002) was documented based on morphological characters and DNA barcoding. We collected 174 specimens of the genus Platycephalus from Chinese coastal waters of Dongying, Qingdao, Zhoushan, and Beihai. Samples were identified as Platycephalus sp.1 morphologically. The coloration, meristic traits, and morphometric measurements are consistent with previously published records. In brief, it is an orange-brown flathead fish with dark brown spots scattered on head and body, lateral line scales 83 to 99 with one or two spine-bearing anteriormost pored scale, no yellow blotch on the caudal fin. Cytochrome oxidase I subunit (COI) gene fragments were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. The mean evolutionary distance within the species Platycephalus sp.1 was 0.1%. Net evolutionary distances between Platycephalus sp.1 and other species of Platycephalus ranged from 10.8% to 19.7%, which is much greater than the threshold for species delimitation. The COI sequence analysis strongly supports the validity of Platyceohalus sp.1 at genetic level.     

Three new records of deep-water goniasterids (Echinodermata: Asteroidea: Goniasteridae) from China seas

In this paper,three deep-water species of the family Goniasteridae,Ceramaster misakiensis(Goto,1914),Nymphaster arthrocnemis Fisher,1913 and Pontioceramus grandis Fisher,1911,are recorded for the first time from Chinese waters based on collections deposited in the Marine Biological Museum,Chinese Academy of Sciences.The specimens examined were collected during the period 1956 to 1978 from the East China and South China Seas at depths of 184 to 472 m.Diagnosis,detailed figures,and the geographic distributions are provided.A revised list of Goniasteridae recorded from Chinese waters is proposed.     

Molecular phylogeny and evolution of Scomber (Teleostei: Scombridae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences

A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Scomber was conducted based on mitochondrial (COI, Cyt b and control region) and nuclear (5S rDNA) DNA sequence data in multigene perspective. A variety of phylogenetic analytic methods were used to clarify the current taxonomic Classification and to assess phylogenetic relationships and the evolutionary history of this genus. The present study produced a well-resolved phylogeny that strongly supported the monophyly of Scomber. We confirmed that S. japonicus and S. colias were genetically distinct. Although morphologically and ecologically similar to S. colias, the molecular data showed that S. japonicus has a greater molecular affinity with S. australasicus, which conflicts with the traditional taxonomy. This phylogenetic pattern was corroborated by the mtDNA data, but incompletely by the nuclear DNA data. Phylogenetic concordance between the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA regions for the basal nodes Supports an Atlantic origin for Scomber. The present-day geographic ranges of the species were compared with the resultant molecular phylogeny derived from partition Bayesian analyses of the combined data sets to evaluate possible dispersal routes of the genus. The present-day geographic distribution of Scomber species might be best ascribed to multiple dispersal events. In addition, our results suggest that phylogenies derived from multiple genes and long sequences exhibited improved phylogenetic resolution, from which we conclude that the phylogenetic reconstruction is a reliable representation of the evolutionary history of Scomber.     

Are Acila divaricata and Acila mirabilis One Species or Two Distinct Species?Evidence from COI Mitochondrial DNA

Acila divaricata (Hinds, 1843) and A. mirabilis (Adams and Reeve, 1850) are common benthic bivalves in China. A number of researchers have proposed that the latter species is a junior synonym of the former species. Because of morphological similarities, it is difficult to distinguish these two species based on visual examination only. For better understanding of their taxonomy, the mitochondrial COI gene fragments of five individuals of A. divaricata from the East China Sea and six individuals of A. mirabilis from the Yellow Sea were sequenced in this study. The phylogenetic relationships of the obtained COI sequences, together with nineteen sequences of three species of the genus Nucula, were analyzed. The pairwise intra- and inter-specific distances for the COI sequences ranged from 0.002 to 0.017 and from 0.128 to 0.134, respectively, and no overlap was found. Phylogenetically, A. divaricata and A. mirabilis form distinct clades and cluster into a sister to all other Nucula species. The results indicated that A. divaricata and A. mirabilis are two distinct species. The differences in the morphology and distribution between the two species were briefly discussed.     

First record and description of male Rhopalione sinensis Markham, 1990, from China,with remarks on genus Rhopalione Pérez, 1920(Crustacea: Isopoda: Bopyridae)

The bopyrid isopod species Rhopalione sinensis Markham, 1990, is recorded for only the second time, from a new locality in China outside Hong Kong, the type-locality. This is also the fi rst fi nding of the male R. sinensis, which is herein described. Its host, Arcotheres sinensis(Shen, 1932) is a new record. A review of the four known species of Rhopalione Pérez, 1920, an updated diagnosis of the genus and a key to species are provided.