A multi‐gene ( SSU , LSU , psb A, and COI ) molecular phylogeny of the family Corallinaceae (excluding the subfamilies Lithophylloideae and Corallinoideae) showed a paraphyletic grouping of six monophyletic clades. Pneophyllum and Spongites were reassessed and recircumscribed using DNA sequence data integrated with morpho‐anatomical comparisons of type material and recently collected specimens. We propose Chamberlainoideae subfam. nov., including the type genus Chamberlainium gen. nov., with C. tumidum comb. nov. as the generitype, and Pneophyllum . Chamberlainium is established to include several taxa previously ascribed to Spongites , the generitype of which currently resides in Neogoniolithoideae. Additionally we propose two new genera, Dawsoniolithon gen. nov. (Metagoniolithoideae), with D. conicum comb. nov. as the generitype and Parvicellularium gen. nov. (subfamily incertae sedis ), with P. leonardi sp. nov. as the generitype. Chamberlainoideae has no diagnostic morpho‐anatomical features that enable one to assign specimens to it without DNA sequence data, and it is the first subfamily to possess both Type 1 ( Chamberlainium ) and Type 2 ( Pneophyllum ) tetra/bisporangial conceptacle roof development. Two characters distinguish Chamberlainium from Spongites : tetra/biasporangial conceptacle chamber diameter (<300 μm in Chamberlainium vs. >300 μm in Spongites ) and tetra/bisporangial conceptacle roof thickness (<8 cells in Chamberlainium vs. >8 cells in Spongites ). Two characters also distinguish Pneophyllum from Dawsoniolithon : tetra/bisporangial conceptacle roof thickness (<8 cells in Pneophyllum vs. >8 cells in Dawsoniolithon ) and thallus construction (dimerous in Pneophyllum vs. monomerous in Dawsoniolithon ).

KAVIENG 2014

PAPUA NIUGINI

The following results are deduced from radiocarbon and oxygen 18 curve datings obtained in Quaternary hemipelagic deposits cored off SW and SE slopes surrounding New-Caledonia: _ the radiometric age of total sediment (periplatform ooze + calcareous planctonic remains) exceeds that derived from the 8(18)0 curve yielded by Orbulina universa; _the rate of sedimentation strongly decreases, principally off southwestern coasts, during the last 16,000 years. This is a probable consequence of the screen-effect of the reefal Quaternary belt, enhanced by the Flandrian transgression.

BIOCAL, BIOGEOCAL

Submarine slopes and basins off New-Caledonia (South-Western Pacifie); morphology, biosedimentary environments, sedimentation During the Biocal deep-sea cruise off New-Caledonia, fauna and sediments were sampled and Seabeam maps were drawn. The first geological results are as follows: - block-faulting determines the morphology of the slopes, their erosion and the transport of sediments along them towards the Loyalty basin plain; - erosion is predominant in the studied areas of the western Caledonian slopes and along the slopes off Lifou island where the canyons are broad and scattered, whereas in front of the "passe de Thio", through the reefal barrier, a relatively high detritic influx transits through several narrow canyons; - the Loyalty basin has been explored along the Thio-Lifou transect; it exhibits a flat bottom and is fed mainly from the eastern Caledonian slopes by calcareous and argilaceous turbidites, which spread eastward over nearly 50 km and interfinger with hemipelagites; - the sediments are constituted by 5 distinct components: 15 to 50% of detritics from New-Caledonia (mainly clay minerais, iron oxydes and silicate minerais); 15 to 25% bioclastic silts and sands derived from the reefal ring and from the lagoon; mixed bioclasts ( 1 to 20%) furnished by benthonic communities living on the slopes and in the basin; planktonic debris (30 to 75%) with a dominant fraction composed of foraminifers and pteropods; and volcanic debris (0,5 to 10%). A sedimentation rate of about 6cm/1000 years (between 16000 and 5000 years B.P.)has been estimated from the explored sector of the Loyalty basin.

BIOCAL

Submarine slopes and basins off New-Caledonia (South-Western Pacifie); morphology, biosedimentary environments, sedimentation During the Biocal deep-sea cruise off New-Caledonia, fauna and sediments were sampled and Seabeam maps were drawn. The first geological results are as follows: - block-faulting determines the morphology of the slopes, their erosion and the transport of sediments along them towards the Loyalty basin plain; - erosion is predominant in the studied areas of the western Caledonian slopes and along the slopes off Lifou island where the canyons are broad and scattered, whereas in front of the "passe de Thio", through the reefal barrier, a relatively high detritic influx transits through several narrow canyons; - the Loyalty basin has been explored along the Thio-Lifou transect; it exhibits a flat bottom and is fed mainly from the eastern Caledonian slopes by calcareous and argilaceous turbidites, which spread eastward over nearly 50 km and interfinger with hemipelagites; - the sediments are constituted by 5 distinct components: 15 to 50% of detritics from New-Caledonia (mainly clay minerais, iron oxydes and silicate minerais); 15 to 25% bioclastic silts and sands derived from the reefal ring and from the lagoon; mixed bioclasts ( 1 to 20%) furnished by benthonic communities living on the slopes and in the basin; planktonic debris (30 to 75%) with a dominant fraction composed of foraminifers and pteropods; and volcanic debris (0,5 to 10%). A sedimentation rate of about 6cm/1000 years (between 16000 and 5000 years B.P.) has been estimated from the explored sector of the Loyalty basin. Oceanologica Acta, 1989, 11, 2, 131-140.

BIOCAL

Basins and their edges were surveyed during crui ses of ENVIMARGES program in the vicinity of New Caledonia. Quaternary deposits include a major carbonate fraction mainly issued from plankton and reef systems surrounding the lands (New Caledonia and Loyalty islands) and a rather argillaceous terrigenous fraction derived from New-Caledonia. SW of New-Caledonia and on both sides of Lifou islands, the submarine slopes are concave and intensely eroded. At the foot of them and beyond, the sedimentation is weak and carbonate-rich. NE of New-Caledonia, the slope is straight and also actively eroded; carbonate and terrigenous material by-pass along it ; slumps and debris-flows accumulate down the slope and turbidites spread over the Loyalty basin. The major features of sedimentation are then splitted between two poles defined by platform and hinterland characteristics: a carbonate pole, comparable with that of the Bahamas, and a mixed carbonate and siliciclastic pole from what the originality of this depositional area is derived and which is determining the fastest sedimentation. The whole system is also dependent on climatic and eustatic Quaternary fluctuations. Interglacial periods are marked by reef growth and carbonate enriched deposits, particularly with aragonite. Reversely, carbonate impoverishments and biological silica enrichments are observed in sediments during glacial periods. The system is also controlled by tectonics but through still undetermined degree and process . The most recent described "Carbonate platform-slope-basin" systems depend on an exclusive carbonate pole. However slope erosions so clear and important as off New-Caledonia are not quoted.To some extent, the behaviour of Loyalty basin during the Quaternary can help in the comprehension of ancient basins. However, a comparison with the Loyalty basin shows the difficulty for restituting palaeomorphologies. In addition , it may be hazardous to use directly observations on a present basin for a better knowledge of ancient sedimentary systems because of scale changes concerning time and the network of observations.

BIOCAL, BIOGEOCAL

The Loyalty Basin, northeast of New Caledonia, is about 100 km wide and 2350 m deep in the transect between Thio (New Caledonia) and the island of Lifou. It is bounded to the southwest by New Caledonia and its surrounding barrier reef and to the northeast by the barrier reef of the Loyalty Ridge. Lifou Island, a raised atoll, is an emerged part of the Loyalty Ridge. The sediments cored in the Loyalty Basin during the BIOCAL mission in 1985 are bioturbated and composed of an alternation of turbidites and hemipelagites. The hemipelagites are brown -yellowish muddy oozes to calcareous muds; the turbidites are composed of sandy and silty oozes capped transitionally with muddy oozes. The hemipelagite and the T, division of the Bouma sequence have different characteristics but are not located in the core. However, they can be distinguished by carbonate composition and grain size. All the sediments originate from five sources: (1) New Caledonia (quartz, mud and heavy minerals), (2) the barrier reef (fragments of algae, madreporarian corals, foraminifera and mud of the periplatform, (3) plankton (foraminifera, coccoliths and pteropoda), (4) the bathyal community and (5) pyroclastic fragments. Turbidites, distributed in cores between Thio and Lifou, constitute a low-profile submarine fan fed by the main canyons of the slope opposite the Thio Pass. The fan developed from a rim of slumps and mud flows located near the base of the slope. The fan extends 50 km toward the northeast as far as the tectonic Levi Ridge. The hemipelagites are predominant beyond this ridge. The modern sedimentation rate is 60 m/Ma on the proximal fan. It is 4- 6 times less than the average sedimentation rate calculated for the period since the origin of the basin in the late Eocene.

BIOCAL

The shark genus Etmopterus is the most species-rich shark genus, however, several of its species level taxa pose taxonomic challenges. Especially the Etmopterus lucifer species group is in need of a taxonomic re-evaluation. In the present study, we review the status of E. lucifer and E. molleri from the north- and southwestern Pacific applying an integrative taxonomic approach. Our dataset comprises 100 morphological characters and the mitochondrial NADH2 marker (1,010 bp) for 178 and 83 specimens, respectively. Our results show that E. lucifer and E. molleri from the Northwestern Pacific are distinct from specimens sampled in the Southwestern Pacific. We therefore (1) resurrect E. abernethyi for specimens in the southwestern Pacific hitherto assigned to E. lucifer, (2) synonymize the Northwestern Pacific E. burgessi with E. lucifer and (3) resurrect E. schmidti for specimens in the Northwestern Pacific hitherto assigned to E. molleri. A lectotype is designated herein for E. lucifer. Redescriptions of the four valid species, E. abernethyi, E. lucifer, E. molleri, and E. schmidti, are given and an updated key to all members of the E. lucifer group from the central Indo-Pacific is provided. The current division of the E. lucifer subgroups is challenged, as the key character, the relative length of flank-marking branches, shows great intraspecific variation.

KAVALAN 2018

PAKAIHI I TE MOANA

The distribution of dissolved iodine in seawater is sensitive to multiple biogeochemical cycles, including those of nitrogen and oxygen. The iodine-to-calcium ratio (I/Ca) of marine carbonates, such as bulk carbonate or foraminifera, has emerged as a potential proxy for changes in past seawater oxygenation. However, the utility of the I/Ca proxy in deep-sea corals, natural archives of seawater chemistry with wide spatial coverage and radiometric dating potential, remains unexplored. Here, we present the first I/Ca data obtained from modern deep-sea corals, specifically scleractinian and bamboo corals, collected from the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Southern Oceans, encompassing a wide range of seawater oxygen concentrations (10–280 μmol/kg). In contrast to thermodynamic predictions, we observe higher I/Ca ratios in aragonitic corals (scleractinian) compared to calcitic corals (bamboo). This observation suggests a strong biological control during iodate incorporation into deep-sea coral skeletons. For the majority of scleractinian corals, I/Ca exhibits a covariation with local seawater iodate concentrations, which is closely related to seawater oxygen content. Scleractinian corals also exhibit notably lower I/Ca below a seawater oxygen threshold of approximately 160 μmol/kg. In contrast, no significant differences in I/Ca are found among bamboo corals across the range of oxygen concentrations encountered (15–240 μmol/kg). In the North Atlantic, several hydrographic factors, such as temperature and/or salinity, may additionally affect coral I/Ca. Our results highlight the potential of I/Ca ratios in deep-sea scleractinian corals to serve as an indicator of past seawater iodate concentrations, providing valuable insights into historical seawater oxygen levels.

MUSORSTOM 9

The commercial deep-sea penaeid shrimp genus Parapenaeus contains 15 species, three subspecies and two forms in the Indo-West Pacific and the Atlantic. Novel nucleotide sequence data from five different genes (COI, 16S, 12S, NaK and PEPCK) were collected to estimate phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic status amongst all but one subspecies in this genus. The phylogenetic results only support two of the four species groups previously proposed for this genus and indicate an evolution direction of the genital organs from simple to complex. The present results suggest that Parapenaeus originated in the shallow waters of the West Pacific with subsequent migration to the deep sea and the Atlantic. The molecular data reveal that there was probably misidentification of females between Parapenaeus australiensis and Parapenaeus ruberoculatus, with females previously assigned as P. australiensis likely being the females of P. ruberoculatus, while material identified as P. australiensis forma nodosa being the true P. australiensis females. On the other hand, Parapenaeus longipes forma denticulata truly represents a variation of the same species, while the subspecies Parapenaeus fissuroides indicus warrants a specific rank.

ATIMO VATAE, BORDAU 2, KARUBENTHOS 2012, MAINBAZA, MUSORSTOM 1, MUSORSTOM 10, PAPUA NIUGINI

The commercial deep‐sea penaeid shrimp genus Parapenaeus contains 15 species, three subspecies and two forms in the Indo‐West Pacific and the Atlantic. Novel nucleotide sequence data from five different genes ( COI , 16S, 12S, NaK and PEPCK ) were collected to estimate phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic status amongst all but one subspecies in this genus. The phylogenetic results only support two of the four species groups previously proposed for this genus and indicate an evolution direction of the genital organs from simple to complex. The present results suggest that Parapenaeus originated in the shallow waters of the West Pacific with subsequent migration to the deep sea and the Atlantic. The molecular data reveal that there was probably misidentification of females between Parapenaeus australiensis and Parapenaeus ruberoculatus , with females previously assigned as P. australiensis likely being the females of P. ruberoculatus, while material identified as P. australiensis forma nodosa being the true P. australiensis females. On the other hand, Parapenaeus longipes forma denticulata truly represents a variation of the same species, while the subspecies Parapenaeus fissuroides indicus warrants a specific rank.

ATIMO VATAE, BORDAU 2, MAINBAZA, PAPUA NIUGINI