Novel micromorphological characters in combination with molecular studies have led to an extensive revision of the taxonomy and systematics of scleractinian corals. In the present work, we investigate the macro- and micromorphology and the phylogenetic position of the genera Australomussa and Parascolymia, two monotypic genera ascribed to the family Lobophylliidae. The molecular phylogeny of both genera was addressed using three markers, the partial mitochondrial COI gene and the nuclear histone H3 and the ribosomal ITS region. Based on molecular data, Australomussa and Parascolymia belong to the Lobophylliidae and they cluster together with the genera Lobophyllia and Symphyllia within the same clade. While A. rowleyensis and P. vitiensis are closely related based on the three gene regions examined, their macro and micromorphology suggest that these species are distinct, differing in several characters, such as continuity and thickness of the costosepta, the number of septa, septal tooth height, spacing, and shape, and the distribution and shape of granules. Thus, we revise the taxonomic status of the genus Australomussa as a junior synonym of Parascolymia.

PAPUA NIUGINI

On evolutionary timescales, sea level oscillations lead to recurrent spatio-temporal variation in species distribution and population connectivity. In this situation, applying classical concepts of biogeography is challenging yet necessary to understand the mechanisms underlying biodiversity in highly diverse marine ecosystems such as coral reefs. We aimed at studying the outcomes of such complex biogeographic dynamics on reproductive isolation by sampling populations across a wide spatial range of a species-rich fish genus: the sergeants (Pomacentridae: Abudefduf). We generated a mutlilocus data set that included ten morpho-species from 32 Indo-West Pacific localities. We observed a pattern of mito-nuclear discordance in two common and widely distributed species: Abudefduf sexfasciatus and Abudefduf vaigiensis. The results showed three regional sublineages (Indian Ocean, Coral Triangle region, western Pacific) in A. sexfasciatus (0.6–1.5% divergence at cytb). The other species, A. vaigiensis, is polyphyletic and consists of three distinct genetic lineages (A, B and C) (9% divergence at cytb) whose geographic ranges overlap. Although A. vaigiensis A and A. sexfasciatus were found to be distinct based on nuclear information, A. vaigiensis A was found to be nested within A. sexfasciatus in the mitochondrial gene tree. A. sexfasciatus from the Coral Triangle region and A. vaigiensis A were not differentiated from each other at the mitochondrial locus. We then used coalescent-based simulation to characterize a spatially widespread but weak gene flow between the two species. We showed that these fishes are good candidates to investigate the evolutionary complexity of the discrepancies between phenotypic and genetic similarity in closely related species.

MADEEP, PAPUA NIUGINI

Flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) are a species‐rich and distinct group of fishes characterized by cranial asymmetry. Flatfishes occupy a wide diversity of habitats, including the tropical deep‐sea and freshwaters, and often are small‐bodied fishes. Most scientific effort, however, has been focused on large‐bodied temperate marine species important in fisheries. Phylogenetic study of flatfishes has also long been limited in scope and focused on the placement and monophyly of flatfishes. As a result, several questions in systematic biology have persisted that molecular phylogenetic study can answer. We examine the Pleuronectoidei, the largest suborder of Pleuronectiformes with >99% of species diversity of the order, in detail with a multilocus nuclear and mitochondrial data set of 57 pleuronectoids from 13 families covering a wide range of habitats. We combine the molecular data with a morphological matrix to construct a total evidence phylogeny that places fossil flatfishes among extant lineages. Utilizing a time‐calibrated phylogeny, we examine the timing of diversification, area of origin and ancestral temperature preference of Pleuronectoidei. We find polyphyly or paraphyly of two flatfish families, the Paralichthyidae and the Rhombosoleidae, and support the creation of two additional families—Cyclopsettidae and Oncopteridae—to resolve their non‐monophyletic status. Our findings also support the distinctiveness of Paralichthodidae and refine the placement of that lineage. Despite a core fossil record in Europe, the observed recent diversity of pleuronectoids in the Indo‐West Pacific is most likely a result of the Indo‐West Pacific being the area of origin for pleuronectoids and the ancestral temperature preference of flatfishes is most likely tropical.

BIOPAPUA, KAVIENG 2014, MADEEP, PAPUA NIUGINI

Two new Oxynaspis species associated with antipatharian corals are described from the AURORA expedition in the Philippines and from Taiwan waters. Oxynaspis auroraensis n. sp. was collected from the Philippines at more than 500 m depth and belongs to the fully armored group of Oxynaspis. The umbo of the carina of O. auroraensis n. sp. is located in a proximal position with the carinal distal arm about 3.5 times longer than the basal arm. Such a position is diagnostic, distinguishing this species from all previously described Oxynaspis species. Oxynaspis biradius n. sp. was collected from Taiwanese waters at 20-30 m depth and belongs to the reduced scutum group of Oxynaspis. The morphology of O. biradius n. sp. is close to that of O. joankovenae Van Syoc & Delkelboum, 2011, but differs in having two distinct white rays on the scutum and a more pointed tergal spur. From molecular analysis in the sequence divergence of the 12S and COI region, O. auroraensis n. sp. and O. biradius n. sp. form distinct monophyletic clades and the interspecific divergence suggests that these two species are distinct.

AURORA 2007

BATHUS 3, BIOPAPUA, EXBODI, MUSORSTOM 8, NORFOLK 2, SALOMON 1

PAPUA NIUGINI

The infraorder Stenopodidea is a relatively small group of marine decapod crustaceans including the well known cleaner shrimps, but their higher taxonomy has been rather controversial. This study provides the most comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analyses of Stenopodidea using sequence data from two mitochondrial (16S and 12S rRNA) and two nuclear (histone H3 and sodium–potassium ATPase a-subunit (NaK)) genes. We included all 12 nominal genera from the three stenopodidean families in order to test the proposed evolutionary hypothesis and taxonomic scheme of the group. The inferred phylogeny did not support the familial ranking of Macromaxillocarididae and rejected the reciprocal monophyly of Spongicolidae and Stenopididae. The genera Stenopus, Richardina, Spongiocaris, Odontozona, Spongicola and Spongicoloides are showed to be poly- or paraphyletic, with monophyly of only the latter three genera strongly rejected in the analysis. The present results only strongly support the monophyly of Microprosthema and suggest that Paraspongiola should be synonymised with Spongicola. The three remaining genera, Engystenopus, Juxtastenopus and Globospongicola, may need to be expanded to include species from other genera if their statuses are maintained. All findings suggest that the morphological characters currently adopted to define genera are mostly invalid and substantial taxonomic revisions are required. As the intergeneric relationships were largely unresolved in the present attempt, the hypothesis of evolution of deep-sea sponge-associated taxa from shallow-water free-living species could not be verified here. The present molecular phylogeny, nevertheless, provides some support that stenopoididean shrimps colonised the deep sea in multiple circumstances.

BIOPAPUA, BORDAU 2, EBISCO, GUYANE 2014, KARUBENTHOS 2, KARUBENTHOS 2012, MUSORSTOM 9, NORFOLK 2, Restricted, PALEO-SURPRISE, PAPUA NIUGINI, SALOMON 2, SANTO 2006, Restricted

Calyptogena” marissinica n. sp. is described from the Haima cold seep on the northwestern slope of the South China Sea, China, at depths of 1,372 m and 1,398 m. Phylogenetic reconstruction using the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene shows that it is sister to Calyptogena similaris but distinct from that species by a pairwise distance of 3.9%, larger than the average intraspecific variation within the genus Calyptogena sensu lato. Morphologically, the new species is distinguished from C. similaris in having a less elongate shell, with nearly straight ventral margin, and no apparent anterior lateral tooth.

MADEEP, PAPUA NIUGINI, SALOMON 2, SANTO 2006, TARASOC, ZhongSha 2015

Dorippidae material collected by several French expeditions (MUSORSTOM 3-6, CHALCAL l, BIOCAL, BIOGEOCAL) from 1980 to 1989, a French Indonesian cruise (CORINDON 2) in 1980 and the MARIEL KING MEMORIAL EXPEDITION in 1970 off the Philippines, Indonesia, Chesterfield Islands and New Caledonia yielded a total of 24 species (including 2 uncertain species) belonging to 2 subfamilies and 3 genera. Twelve species are new and 10 species are first records from New Caledonia.

BIOCAL, BIOGEOCAL, CHALCAL 1, CHALCAL 2, CORINDON 2, Restricted, LAGON, MUSORSTOM 3, MUSORSTOM 4, MUSORSTOM 5, MUSORSTOM 6, SMIB 6

Material of Ethusinae collected by a French-Indonesian expedition in Indonesia (KARUBAR, 1991), and two French expeditions to Wallis and Futuna Islands (MUSORSTOM 7,1992), and off New Caledonia (BATHUS 3, 1993) yielded a total of 11 species belonging to three genera. One genus and five species are new and three species are recorded for the first time from Indonesia.

BATHUS 3, KARUBAR, MUSORSTOM 7

During the MUSORSTOM 8 cruise in Vanuatu, in September and October 1994, 12 species belonging in the genera Ethusa and Ethusina were collected. Two of them, Ethusina microspina and E. vanuatuensis, are new; all the others are recorded for the first time in Vanuatu.

MUSORSTOM 8

The Dorippidae collected by the MUSORSTOM I and II Expeditions during 1976 and 1980 in Philippine waters consist of 9 species belonging to four genera. One new genus and two new species are described. Five species are reported for the first time from the Philippines.

MUSORSTOM 1, MUSORSTOM 2

MUSORSTOM 1, MUSORSTOM 2, MUSORSTOM 3

Rhodopsin mediates an essential step in image capture and is tightly associated with visual adaptations of aquatic organisms, especially species that live in dim light environments (e.g., the deep sea). The rh1 gene encoding rhodopsin was formerly considered a singlecopy gene in genomes of vertebrates, but increasing exceptional cases have been found in teleost fish species. The main objective of this study was to determine to what extent the visual adaptation of teleosts might have been shaped by the duplication and loss of rh1 genes. For that purpose, homologous rh1/rh1-like sequences in genomes of ray-finned fishes from a wide taxonomic range were explored using a PCR-based method, data mining of public genetic/genomic databases, and subsequent phylogenomic analyses of the retrieved sequences. We show that a second copy of the fish-specific intron-less rh1 is present in the genomes of most anguillids (Elopomorpha), Hiodon alosoides (Osteoglossomorpha), and several clupeocephalan lineages. The phylogenetic analysis and comparisons of alternative scenarios for putative events of gene duplication and loss suggested that fish rh1 was likely duplicated twice during the early evolutionary history of teleosts, with one event coinciding with the hypothesized fish-specific genome duplication and the other in the common ancestor of the Clupeocephala. After these gene duplication events, duplicated genes were maintained in several teleost lineages, whereas some were secondarily lost in specific lineages. Alternative evolutionary schemes of rh1 and comparison with previous studies of gene evolution are also reviewed.

EXBODI, NanHai 2014, PAPUA NIUGINI, TAIWAN 2013, ZhongSha 2015

PAPUA NIUGINI

PAPUA NIUGINI

A checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province is presented, with special emphasis on Kavieng District, combining both previous and new records. After the recent KAVIENG 2014 expedition, a total of 1325 species in 153 families were recorded from the region. The largest families are the Gobiidae, Pomacentridae, Labridae, Serranidae, Apogonidae, Lutjanidae, Chaetodontidae, Blenniidae, Carangidae, Acanthuridae, Scaridae, Holocentridae, Syngnathidae, Lethrinidae and Scorpaenidae. A total of 810 fish species (61.1 % of the total marine and estuarine fish fauna) are recorded from New Ireland for the first time.

KAVIENG 2014, MADEEP

Iwamoto’s anglerfish Lophiodes iwamotoi is recorded from New Caledonia for the first time. Study of molecular features further support the validity of the species. Moloecular sequence data from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I and Rhodopsin loci, along with morphological variation are provided, as well as information on its fresh coloration.

EXBODI

Four species of Chicomurex are discussed and illustrated. Two new species are described from the Philippines, with geographical distribution extending to New Caledonia for one. Chicomurex gloriosus (Shikama, 9177) s ierinstated sa aavlid anme nad C. venustulus (Rehder & Wilson, 1975) is restricted to the Marquesas Islands. Seven species are listed from the Philippine

LAGON, MUSORSTOM 9, SANTO 2006

PAPUA NIUGINI

Two new species of the crangonid shrimp genus Metacrangon Zarenkov, 1965, are described and illustrated on the basis of materials collected from the Okinawa Trough, Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan, during diving operations of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs): M. ryukyu n. sp. from off Iheya Island, at depth of 986 m; and Metacrangon kaiko n. sp. from NE of Yonaguni Island, at depth of 2205 m. The two new species resemble members of the M. munita (Dana, 1852) species group, but are both characteristic in having setose dactyli on pereopods 4 and 5. Some minor differences in morphology and genetic analysis using partial sequences of the barcoding mitochondrial COI gene support the recognition of the two new species. Holotypes of the two new species were collected from hydrothermally influenced areas, representing a previously unknown habitat for species of Metacrangon.

BIOPAPUA

The use of phylogeny with uneven or limited taxon sampling may bias our interpretation of organismal evolution, for instance, the origin(s) of the deep-sea animals. The Mollusca is the second most speciose phylum, in which the Gastropoda forms the largest group. However, the currently proposed hypotheses of gastropod phylogeny are mainly based on part of their taxonomic diversity, notably on the large-sized and shallow-water species. In this study, we aimed at correcting this bias by reconstructing the phylogeny with new mitogenomes of deep-sea gastropods including Anatoma sp., Bathysciadiidae sp., Bayerotrochus teramachii, Calliotropis micraulax, Coccocrater sp., Cocculina subcompressa, Lepetodrilus guaymasensis, Peltospira smaragdina, Perotrochus caledonicus, Pseudococculinidae sp., and Shinkailepas briandi. This dataset provided the first reports of the mitogenomes for the Cocculiniformia, three vetigastropod superfamilies: Pleurotomarioidea, Lepetelloidea, and Scissurelloidea, and the neritimorph family Phenacolepadidae. The addition of deep-sea representatives also allowed us to evaluate the evolution of habitat use in gastropods. Our results showed a strongly supported sister-group relationship between the deep-sea lineages Cocculiniformia and Neomphalina. Within the Vetigastropoda, the Pleurotomarioidea was revealed as the sister-group of the remaining vetigastropods. Although this clade was presently restricted to the deep sea, fossil records showed that it has only recently invaded this habitat, thus suggesting that shallow waters was the ancestral habitat for the Vetigastropoda. The deep-sea Lepetelloidea and Lepetodriloidea formed a well-supported clade, with the Scissurelloidea sister to it, suggesting an early transition from shallow water to deep sea in this lineage. In addition, the switch between different chemosynthetic habitats was also observed in deep-sea gastropod lineages, notably in Neomphalina and Lepetelloidea. In both cases, the biogenic substrates appeared as the putative ancestral habitat, confirming the previously proposed hypothesis of a wooden-step to deep-sea vents scenario of evolution of habitat use for these taxa.

AURORA 2007, BIOPAPUA, CONCALIS, EXBODI, NORFOLK 2, PAPUA NIUGINI

With 11 species, the genus Chelidoperca is a small group of teleost fishes belonging to the Serranidae. They are bottom-dwelling fishes living on continental shelves/slopes in offshore areas or on remote seamounts/banks at depths ranging from around 40–400m mostly in the tropical Indo-West Pacific. Over the past few years, efforts have been made to resolve the taxonomy of Chelidoperca, and subsequently four new species were described. However, these recent advances were made with a traditional approach (i.e., morphology) and limited examinable materials, usually preserved specimens, from ichthyological collections. Further investigations are still needed to address the gaps in our knowledge about their diversity, phylogeny, and biogeography. In this study, we collected 65 new samples, mainly during eight biodiversity expeditions carried out between 2007 and 2016 in the West Pacific under the Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos program. Specimens were photographed after collection to record fresh color patterns, which are essential for species diagnosis. Our analytical approach includes state-of-the-art DNA-based methods for species delimitation. The combined evidence from both molecular and morphological examinations, as well as other information such as geography, is used to test species validity. This reveals 15 species, including six new ones. We formally describe herein C. leucostigmata sp. nov., C. microdon sp. nov., and C. barazeri sp. nov. on the basis of specimens collected on Macclesfield Bank in the South China Sea, on the Chesterfield and Island of Pines plateau of New Caledonia, and off the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea, respectively. These new species are morphologically distinct from all other known species of Chelidoperca by body color pattern and combinations of a few identified characters. We also redescribe one of the lesser known species, C. lecromi, from fresh specimens collected close to its type locality and a new site in the Coral Sea. The distributional records for this and other known species are updated accordingly. Genetic references of the species as well as an updated identification key to western Pacific species are also provided.

AURORA 2007, BIOPAPUA, EXBODI, KANACONO, KANADEEP, KAVIENG 2014, MADEEP, ZhongSha 2015

Aim: The high species richness of the Indo‐Australian Archipelago (IAA) marine biodiversity hotspot has been attributed to three competing hypotheses: Centre of Origin/Centre of Overlap/Centre of Accumulation. While most phylogeographic studies testing these hypotheses have focused on marine fishes, we provide a new perspective on this evolutionary important question by examining the population genetics of the horned ghost crab Ocypode ceratophthalmus sensu lato (Ocypodidae) whose distribution spans the entire Indo‐Pacific and contains at least two colour morphs.

ATIMO VATAE, PAPUA NIUGINI, SANTO 2006

The new serranid fish Chelidoperca cerasina is described on the basis of 13 specimens from the Coral Sea (off New Caledonia and eastern Australia), southwest Pacific Ocean, at depths of 245–338 m. The new species can be readily distinguished from all congeners by having the following combination of characters: an orange spot on pectoral-fin and caudal-fin bases; 4 scale rows between lateral line and base of spinous dorsal fin; cheek scales in 8 or 9 (modally 8) rows; tip of upper caudal-fin lobe elongated, slightly longer than lower lobe in specimens > ca. 100 mm; no longitudinal dark stripe or row of dark blotches laterally on body; interorbital scales extending beyond mid-orbit level, but not reaching anterior margin of orbit; scales on ventral surface of lower jaw restricted to angular, absent on dentary; pelvic fin short, tip not reaching anus when adpressed.

CHALCAL 2, EXBODI, KANADEEP, LITHIST, MIRIKY, MUSORSTOM 5

The deep-sea part of the ‘Papua Niugini Biodiversity Expedition’ surveyed the deep-sea environments along the coasts of New Guinea Island in the Bismarck Sea, from the Vitiaz Strait to the border between Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Irian Jaya. This expedition was a follow-up of the BIOPAPUA cruise (2010) that gave some of the first insights into the diversity of the deep-sea fauna of the Bismarck and Solomon Seas for environments other than deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The main aims of the cruise were to survey the diversity of the fauna of (i) hard bottoms that are typically found on deep seamounts, (ii) Astrolabe Bay from 200 m to about 1000 m, (iii) the chemosynthetic environments of the deep sea, including cold-seep environments and plant debris. Astrolabe Bay was one of our targets because its topography allows sampling over the complete bathymetric gradient covered by our sampling gear (down to 1000 m depth), and the recent start of nickel refining activities in the bay is a potential threat to its marine fauna for which little reference data are available. Sampling in the bay revealed not only a diversified fauna associated with soft bottoms and plant debris, but also a chemosynthetic fauna typical of coldseep environments (e.g. siboglinid worms and bathymodioline mussels) below the Ramu refinery. Although the refinery activities had officially started just one week before our work in the area, we observed impacts of these activities. Our molecular work indicates that the siboglinid tubeworm species and one of the two mussel species collected below the Ramu refinery have so far only been documented from this location, despite intensive sampling effort. This illustrates the potential destructive effects of human activities in areas where the diversity and uniqueness of deep-sea communities are poorly understood.

BIOPAPUA, MADEEP, PAPUA NIUGINI

Left-eyed flounders of the genus Chascanopsetta Alcock 1894 (Bothidae) occur in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans at depths ranging from 120 to 1500 meters. They possess some unique features in bothid fishes including a strongly compressed and elongated body and a tremendously large mouth. Currently, nine species of Chascanopsetta are recognized, and three of them (C. micrognatha Amaoka & Yamamoto 1984, C. lugubris Alcock 1894 and C. prognatha Norman 1939) are distributed in the West Pacific. We collected 25 specimens of Chascanopsetta during 11 biodiversity expeditions carried out mainly in the West Pacific. Among them, eight specimens taken off Papua New Guinea present morphological features that differ from those of the three nominal species known in the West Pacific. In this study, we examined these eight specimens of unknown affinity and compared their morphology to that of specimens of other congeneric species. Results of these comparisons showed that these specimens represent an undescribed species of Chascanopsetta, named herein, C. novaeguineae sp. nov.. The new species resembles C. elski Foroshchuk 1991, which is known only from the Saya de Malha Bank in the western Indian Ocean, in having a high number of gill rakers (> 13). However, the combination of the following characters further distinguishes C. novaeguineae sp. nov. from C. elski: longer jaws, narrower interorbital width, and number of pseudobranches (21–25 vs. 26–27). The DNA sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene from C. novaeguineae sp. nov. and other species were obtained and compared to confirm its taxonomic status and to infer its tentative phylogenetic position within the Chascanopsetta.

AURORA 2007, BIOPAPUA, DongSha 2014, KANACONO, KANADEEP, KARUBENTHOS 2, KAVIENG 2014, MADEEP, NanHai 2014, SALOMONBOA 3, ZhongSha 2015

Trachinocephalus gauguini Polanco, Acero & Betancur, 2016 was described based on eighteen specimens collected from off the Marquesas Islands, the only location where this species has been recorded until now. Through morphological and molecular examination of Trachinocephalus specimens collected from an exploratory cruise conducted in June 2014 under the Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos program along the northern coast of the New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, we demonstrate the presence of this species in Papua New Guinea waters. This new record suggests a wide distribution for this rarely collected species in the western Pacific Ocean.

KAVIENG 2014, MADEEP, PAPUA NIUGINI

MUSORSTOM 8, TAIWAN 2000, TAIWAN 2001

A new species of slipper lobster, Petrarctus holthuisi, new species, is found from the recent expeditions to the Philippines and Vanuatu. The new species resembles P. rugosus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) but has a different colouration and several morphological differences. Comparisons of the partial sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) show high degree of divergence (12.5-22.3%) among all the species of Petrarctus. The molecular genetic analysis also suggests that the recent separation of Scyllarus sensu Into may need to be revised. A key to all Petrarctus species is provided.

AURORA 2007, PANGLAO 2004, PANGLAO 2005, SANTO 2006

Material previously identified as Galearctus kitanoviriosus (Harada, 1962) from New Caledonia has been found to consist of two distinct species. These species differ in the shape of the gastric tooth, third pereiopod propodus, antennal segment IV and thoracic sternum. The shallow water form is the true G. kitanoviriosus, while the deep-water form is new to science. Genetic comparison of the sequence of the barcoding gene, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit (COI), also supports the separation.

BATHUS 1, BERYX 11, HALICAL 1, HALIPRO 1, SMIB 3, VAUBAN 1978-1979, VOLSMAR