PAPUA NIUGINI

Comatulidae Fleming, 1828 (previously, and incorrectly, Comasteridae A.H. Clark, 1908a), is a group of feather star crinoids currently divided into four accepted subfamilies, 21 genera and approximately 95 nominal species. Comatulidae is the most commonly-encountered and species-rich crinoid group on shallow tropical coral reefs, particularly in the Indo-western Pacific region (IWP). We conducted a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the group with concatenated data from up to seven genes for 43 nominal species spanning 17 genera and all subfamilies. Basal nodes returned low support, but maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian analyses were largely congruent, permitting an evaluation of current taxonomy and analysis of morphological character transformations. Two of the four current subfamilies were paraphyletic, whereas 15 of the 17 included genera returned as monophyletic. We provide a new classification with two subfamilies, Comatulinae and Comatellinae n. subfamily Summers, Messing, & Rouse, the former containing five tribes. We revised membership of analyzed genera to make them all clades and erected Anneissia n. gen. Summers, Messing, & Rouse. Transformation analyses for morphological features generally used in feather star classification (e.g., ray branching patterns, articulations) and those specifically for Comatulidae (e.g., comb pinnule form, mouth placement) were labile with considerable homoplasy. These traditional characters, in combination, allow for generic diagnoses, but in most cases we did not recover apomorphies for subfamilies, tribes, and genera. New morphological characters that will be informative for crinoid taxonomy and identification are still needed. DNA sequence data currently provides the most reliable method of identification to the species-level for many taxa of Comatulidae.

PAPUA NIUGINI, SALOMON 2

An efficient protocol to identify and describe species of Myzostomida is outlined and demonstrated. This taxonomic approach relies on careful identification (facilitated by an included comprehensive table of available names with relevant geographical and host information) and concise descriptions combined with DNA sequencing, live photography, and accurate host identification. Twenty-one new species are described following these guidelines: Asteromyzostomum grygieri n. sp., Endomyzostoma scotia n. sp., Endomyzostoma neridae n. sp., Mesomyzostoma lanterbecqae n. sp., Hypomyzostoma jasoni n. sp., Hypomyzostoma jonathoni n. sp., Myzostoma debiae n. sp., Myzostoma eeckhauti n. sp., Myzostoma hollandi n. sp., Myzostoma indocuniculus n. sp., Myzostoma josefinae n. sp., Myzostoma kymae n. sp., Myzostoma laurenae n. sp., Myzostoma miki n. sp., Myzostoma pipkini n. sp., Myzostoma susanae n. sp., Myzostoma tertiusi n. sp., Protomyzostomum lingua n. sp., Protomyzostomum roseus n. sp., Pulvinomyzostomum inaki n. sp., and Pulvinomyzostomum messingi n. sp.

PAPUA NIUGINI

Biogeographical classification schemes such as the Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW) have been devel­ oped for continental shelf depths. The lack of faunal data in the deep sea has led to the development of biogeographical units based on oceanographic characteristics. The aim of this study was to propose biogeo­ graphical schemes for the Upper Bathyal (200–1000 m) across the Pacific Ocean using octocoral distributions. We retrieved over 200 000 octocoral data records from the Deep Sea Coral Data Portal (DSCDP), Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos program (French National Museum of Natural History), Queensland Museum from the CIDARIS expeditions, and records retrieved from the Siboga expedition reports. We used cluster analysis to examine octocoral distributions against four different biogeo­ graphical classification schemes. The classification schemes produced mostly concordant patterns with three major faunal distribution barriers: the North Pacific Current isolates the subarctic units by creating a steep temperature gradient; the Subantarctic Front separates the Subantarctic from the rest of the Pacific; and the East Pacific Barrier separates the East Pacific from the Central and West Pacific. Two other smaller but distinct provinces are the Indo-Pacific where Lower Bathyal genera are found in the Upper Bathyal, and Torres Strait/ Coral Sea characterised by mesophotic genera. We propose 12 biogeographic provinces across the Pacific Ocean Upper Bathyal region from 200 to 1000 m depth based on octocoral distributions. The main driver for these units seems to be temperature, a defining feature of water masses. These units could potentially be subdivided into smaller regions based on habitat. Additionally, the clustering of Ecological Marine Units (EMUs) provides evi­ dence that the Upper Bathyal should in certain regions be divided vertically into two depth zones based on water masses.

BIOPAPUA, EXBODI, KANACONO, KAVIENG 2014, MADEEP, PAPUA NIUGINI, TARASOC, TERRASSES, ZhongSha 2015