DOI: 10.3897/zse.102.174505

Authors: Piet Arie Johannes Bakker, Romain Sabroux

Abstract: Jan Cornelis Christiaan Loman (1856–1929) was a major contributor to our knowledge of sea spiders (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) and to the collections of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NBC), Leiden. Loman worked on Pycnogonida material from various geographic origins, including southern Africa, the Antarctic Peninsula, Arctic seas, Southeast Asia, the Atlantic, Australia, the China Sea, Japan, and the Mediterranean Sea; he notably participated in the taxonomic study of samples from the Siboga Expedition, the Prince Albert I of Monaco expeditions, and the Swedish Antarctic Expeditions. In total, Loman described 54 sea spider species and six sea spider genera; 48 and three, respectively, are still regarded as valid today. In the present work, we aim to summarise Loman’s outstanding contribution to sea spider taxonomy by listing all species he reported or described. We recovered a total of 162 records in NBC, 133 of which correspond to type material, including 19 holotypes and 37 syntypes. We further sought out all Loman’s Pycnogonida material curated at NBC and located additional type material housed in institutions worldwide.

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DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.167593

Authors: Damin Lee, Jin-Ho Park, Taeseo Park

Abstract: A new species belonging to the genus Rhynchothorax was discovered in a subtidal sandy patch off the eastern coast of Jejudo Island, Republic of Korea. The new species, Rhynchothorax arenigenus sp. nov., is morphologically close to R. nopperabo, R. philopsammum, and R. vallatus, but can be distinguished by a combination of morphological characters: an ectal tubercle at the lateral extension of cephalic segment, the lateral process intervals, the arrangement of spines and tubercles on the lateral processes, the oviger spine formula, leg tuberculation, and the relative length of auxiliary claws. We highlight three morphological traits in the present species: a pair of ventral furrows on the proboscis, variable lateral process intervals, and the structure of oviger terminal claw. Notably, the ventral furrows are described here for the first time within the genus and may have been overlooked in other Rhynchothorax species. Additionally, partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) are provided to support species delimitation and to facilitate future phylogenetic research.

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DOI: 10.3897/zse.98.83671

Authors: Rudá Amorim Lucena, Martin Lindsey Christoffersen

Abstract: Five species were identified in the studied collection: Colossendeis megalonyx Hoek, 1881, first record for Uruguay, Ascorhynchus corderoi du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1952 and Pallenopsis candidoi Mello-Leitão, 1949, with extended ranges, Pallenopsis patagonica (Hoek, 1881), a species complex recently analysed with molecular data and Ammothea tetrapoda, recorded previously for Uruguayan waters. Our study clarifies records based on morphology, provides new data on distributions and species ranges and correlates species with ecological conditions.

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DOI: 10.3897/zse.98.84864

Authors: Lisa Wolf, Roland R. Melzer, Tobias Lehmann

Abstract: The female specimen of Ascorhynchus hippos Turpaeva, 1994 was collected in 2015 during the Russian-German deep-sea expedition SokhoBio (Sea of Okhotsk Biodiversity Studies) at the abyssal western slope of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench at a depth of 4469 m using a camera-epibenthic sledge. It is the first record of this species since the discovery of one female holotype and one male paratype in 1990. Ascorhynchus hippos is easily distinguishable from its congeners by the two prominent tubercles above the chelifore insertions, the absence of the eye tubercle and eyes, and the tubercles on the mid-dorsal trunk segments and the lateral processes. Here we present the first photographic documentation of all three known specimens of A. hippos and the COI barcode of the new specimen is also provided.

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DOI: 10.3897/zse.90.7520

Authors: Tobias Lehmann, Martin Heß, Roland R. Melzer

Abstract: In the present study 21 littoral pycnogonid species from 5 families are analysed: Ammotheidae (9 species), Callipallenidae (5 species), Endeidae (2 species), Phoxichilidiidae (3 species), and Pycnogonidae (2 species). The material was mainly taken from Mediterranean pycnogonid collections housed in the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. Additional material was collected during field trips. Altogether the material was obtained from six different locations: Banyuls-sur-Mer (France), Tavolara Island (Italy), Elba Island (Italy), Giglio Island (Italy), Sicily Island (Italy), and Istria Peninsula (Croatia). The animals were studied in detail with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Additionally series of light microscopic pictures were made to generate extended depth of field pictures of whole animals. The observed features are compared with previous literature.

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