A new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus alphus (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae), is described from the south-western Indian Ocean. The new species resembles other members of the ‘Etmopterus lucifer’ clade in having linear rows of dermal denticles and most closely resembles E. molleri from the south-western Pacific. The new species is fairly common along the upper continental slopes off central Mozambique, at depths between 472 and 558 m, and is also found on the southern Madagascar Ridge in 650–792 m depth. It can be distinguished from other members of the E. lucifer clade by a combination of characteristics, including arrangement of flank and caudal markings, dimension of flank markings and shape, size and arrangement of dermal denticles along the body. Molecular analysis further supports the distinction of E. alphus from other members of the E. lucifer clade.

BIOPAPUA, PAPUA NIUGINI

A new species of lanternshark, Etmopterus brosei sp. nov. (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae), is described from the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans. The new species resembles other members of the Etmopterus lucifer Jordan & Snyder, 1902 clade in having linear rows of dermal denticles, and most closely resembles the conspecific E. sculptus Ebert, Compagno, & De Vries, 2011 from the southeastern Atlantic and southwestern Indian oceans. The new species is fairly common along the upper continental slopes off South Africa, Mozambique, and seamounts along the Madagascar Ridge, including Walters Shoal, in 480–1200 m depth. It can be distinguished from other members of the E. lucifer clade by a combination of characteristics, including the arrangement of flank and caudal markings, shape and size of flank marking, the arrangement of dermal denticles along the body, and the presence of dermal denticles on the dorsal fin bases. A revised key to the Etmopterus lucifer clade is provided.

BIOPAPUA

A new species of the genus Lunovula Rosenberg, 1990, Lunovula supingae sp. nov. feeding on deep-sea hydroid Solanderia sp. (Solanderiidae, commonly known as tree hydroid) is described and illustrated from the East China Sea and South China Sea. It is most similar to Lunovula venusta Tsuchida & Kurozumi, 1999 in general shell shape but can be distinguished from the latter by having a more elevated funiculum with two large raised teeth, higher number of labial teeth, less protruding posterior extremity, and most notably, by having an outer lip that entirely thickens to the outside. This represents the first record of a pediculariid species feeding on a hydroid other than a hydrocoral. Phylogenetic analyses based on the COI and 16S rRNA genes using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood showed that Lunovula supingae sp. nov. falls into the family Pediculariidae, supporting the systematic placement of Lunovula in the family. Furthermore, the phylogenetic analyses recovered the Ovulidae as polyphyletic, suggesting that this family needs a further taxonomic revision.

TARASOC