[Mollusca • 2022] Ostrea oleomargarita • Cryptic Marine Diversity in the Northern Arabian Gulf: An Integrative Approach Uncovers a New Species of Oyster (Bivalvia: Ostreidae)

Ostrea oleomargarita Oliver, Salvi & Al-Kandari,

in Salvi, Al-Kandari, Oliver, Berrilli & Garzia, 2022. 

 DOI: 10.1155/2022/7058975 

  

Abstract

Animal biodiversity is greatly underestimated in nontemperate marine regions, especially for intertidal benthic organisms such as oysters. Recent surveys in the northern Arabian Gulf suggest the presence of numerous unidentified species, some of which form shallow reef ecosystems while others are cryptic and found under rocks. In this study, we focused on small oysters from Kuwait, which show typical characteristics in common with the genus Ostrea except for the presence of lophine chomata that would link it to the genera Lopha, Dendostrea, and Alectryonella. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers unambiguously placed the Kuwait oyster within the Ostreinae as a sister to the Japanese species Ostrea futamiensis. The hypothesis that the Kuwait oyster represents a new species was assessed with phylogenetic and species delimitation methods combined with a morphological assessment. Results corroborated the Kuwait oysters as a new species herein described as Ostrea oleomargarita Oliver, Salvi, and Al-Kandari, sp. nov. The phylogeny of the Ostreinae shows extensive disagreement between morphology-based genera and phylogenetic clades. The genus Ostrea is polyphyletic, and the form and distribution of taxonomic characters such as chomata are not as definitive as suggested in previous studies. This study, along with other recent investigations, confirmed the Arabian Gulf as a key region for discovering marine animal diversity and suggested a possible biogeographic divide between the Eastern and Western Indo-Pacific. A pattern that has been documented in a growing number of taxa and that warrants further research attention.

Ostrea oleomargarita sp. nov.
A holotype upper shell in situ with another specimen, Al Sha’ab B holotype upper shell, internal view of attached valves showing catachomata, greenish interior and brown margin [NMW.Z.2021.009.008]
C–F paratypes, variations in external sculpture and colouration, all Al Sha’ab D brown, tubercular E black and beige, foliar F Al Sha’ab site typically encrusted with Bryozoa; [NMW.Z.2021.009.010.] G Failaka, rayed, foliar [NMW.Z.2021.009.011 #7].

Systematics

Ostreoidea Rafinesque, 1815

Ostreidae Rafinesque, 1815

Ostreinae Rafinesque, 1815

Ostrea Linnaeus, 1758

Generic Definition. It is commonplace to give a generic definition when describing a new species. However, the molecular data presented here suggests that Ostrea is polyphyletic and that the new species described here and its sister taxon O. futamiensis do not cluster within the clade that includes Ostrea edulis, the type species of the genus Ostrea (see Discussion). While a systematic revision of the genus Ostrea is clearly needed, we have resorted to use Ostrea in its common understanding until a much more detailed phylogeny of the Ostreinae can be presented.

Ostrea oleomargarita Oliver, Salvi, and Al-Kandari, sp. nov.  

Derivation of Name. Derived from the combination oleo from olivarius (Latin) referring to the colour olive-green and margarita from margarites (Latin) referring to the pearly lustre of the inner surfaces of the valves. Thus, to the typical olive-green lustre of the nacreous inner surface of the valves.

 

Daniele Salvi, Manal Al-Kandari, P. Graham Oliver, Emanuele Berrilli,, and Matteo Garzia. 2022. Cryptic Marine Diversity in the Northern Arabian Gulf: An Integrative Approach Uncovers a New Species of Oyster (Bivalvia: Ostreidae), Ostrea oleomargarita. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 7058975. DOI: 10.1155/2022/7058975

Daniele Salvi, Manal Al-Kandari, P. Graham Oliver, Emanuele Berrilli,, and Matteo Garzia. 2023. Corrigendum: Salvi D, Al-Kandari M, Oliver PG, Berrilli E, Garzia M. 2022. Cryptic marine diversity in the northern Arabian Gulf: an integrative approach uncovers a new species of oyster (Bivalvia: Ostreidae), Ostrea oleomargarita. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 7058975. DOI: 10.1155/2022/7058975. ZooKeys. 1143: 89-92.  DOI:  10.3897/zookeys.1143.100087

[Crustacea • 2020] Taxonomic Notes on Alpheus inopinatus Holthuis & Gottlieb, 1958 and Alpheus cf. lobidens De Haan, 1849 (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Alpheidae) from Kuwait

Alpheus inopinatus Holthuis & Gottlieb, 1958

in Anker, Al-Kandari & Grave, 2020. 

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4851.1.10 

Photograph by A. Anker.

Abstract

The status of the common intertidal snapping shrimp, Alpheus inopinatus Holthuis & Gottlieb, 1958, is discussed based on newly collected material from Kuwait. Alpheus inopinatus was previously confused with morphologically very similar species in the Alpheus lobidens De Haan, 1849 species complex, formerly identified as A. crassimanus Heller, 1862 and herein tentatively referred to as A. cf. lobidens. The material herein examined strongly supports the validity of A. inopinatus based on several morphological characters, as well as differences in the colour pattern, compared to other members of the A. lobidens complex.

Keywords: Crustacea, Alpheus, Alpheidae, snapping shrimp, Indian Ocean, Arabian-Persian Gulf

Alpheus inopinatus Holthuis & Gottlieb, 1958: male from Kuwait,
 OUMNH.ZC.2020-01-001 [fcn KUW-011] —lateral view.

Photograph by A. Anker.

 Arthur Anker, Manal Al-Kandari and Sammy De Grave. 2020. Taxonomic Notes on Alpheus inopinatus Holthuis & Gottlieb, 1958 and Alpheus cf. lobidens De Haan, 1849 from Kuwait (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Alpheidae). Zootaxa.  4851(1); 189–197. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4851.1.10

[Crustacea • 2020] New Records of Decapod Crustaceans (Malacostraca: Decapoda) from Kuwait

Polyonyx obesulus Miers, 1884

in Al-Kandari, Anker, Hussain, et al., 2020. 

  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4803.2.2

Abstract

Seventeen species of shrimp-like decapod crustaceans (infraorders Caridea, Axiidea and Gebiidea) and two species of porcelain crabs (infraorder Anomura) are recorded for the first time from Kuwait, some of them also representing new records for the Arabian Gulf. The new records from Kuwait are: (1) Alpheus edamensis De Man, 1888; (2) Alpheus edwardsii (Audouin, 1826); (3) Alpheus macrodactylus Ortmann, 1890; (4) Alpheus maindroni Coutière, 1898; (5) Arete indicus Coutière, 1903; (6) Athanas parvus De Man, 1910; (7) Synalpheus gracilirostris De Man, 1910 [all Alpheidae]; (8) Latreutes mucronatus (Stimpson, 1860) [Hippolytidae]; (9) Thor paschalis (Heller, 1862) [Thoridae] (10) Periclimenella pettithouarsii (Audouin, 1826); (11) Anchistus custos (Forskål, 1775); (12) Urocaridella pulchella Yokes & Galil, 2006 [all Palaemonidae]; (13) Chlorocurtis jactans (Nobili, 1904) [Chlorotocellidae]; (14) Upogebia carinicauda (Stimpson, 1860); (15) Upogebia octoceras Nobili, 1904 [Upogebiidae]; (16) Balsscallichirus masoomi (Tirmizi, 1970), (17) Michaelcallianassa indica Sakai, 2002 [Callianassidae]; (18) Raphidopus persicus Ng, Safaie & Naser, 2012 and Polyonyx obesulus Miers, 1884 [Porcellanidae]. Most of these taxa have been previously recorded from other parts of the Arabian Gulf, mainly from the coasts of Iran and the United Arab Emirates, except for A. maindroni and U. pulchella, which are recorded from the Arabian Gulf for the first time. Most species are shown in colour photographs, some for the first time. In addition, the presence of Synalpheus quinquedens Tattersall, 1921 (Alpheidae), previously known from Kuwait based only on a questionable record in a popular field guide, is confirmed based on a single collected and preserved specimen.

Keywords: Crustacea, Caridea, Gebiidea, Axiidea, Porcellanidae, shrimp, ghost shrimp, mud shrimp, porcelain crab, new records, Kuwait, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean

Polyonyx obesulus Miers, 1884 (MNHN-IU-2019-3186):
male from Failaka Island, Kuwait, with partly opened host sponge.

Photograph by A. Anker. 

Manal Al-Kandari, Arthur Anker, Sumaiah Hussain, Zainab Sattari and Sammy De Grave. 2020. New Records of Decapod Crustaceans from Kuwait (Malacostraca: Decapoda). Zootaxa. 4803(2); 251–280. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4803.2.2

[Crustacea • 2020] Salmoneus ikaros • On Two Species of the Alpheid Shrimp Genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Caridea) from Kuwait, One of them New To Science

Salmoneus ikaros 

Anker, Al-Kandari & De Grave, 2020

  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.1.3 

Abstract

The alpheid genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 is reported from Kuwait for the first time, with two species. One species, Salmoneus ikaros sp. nov., is described based on a single specimen from Failaka Island, extracted from the burrow of the callianassid ghost-shrimp Balsscallichirus masoomi (Tirmizi, 1970), together with the host. The new species is characterised by its peculiar eyes, which together with other characters separate it from all previously described species of Salmoneus. The second species, Salmoneus gracilipes Miya, 1972, is reported from Kuwait based on three specimens from two different localities and different habitats. Two specimens were found under coral rocks at a depth of about 7 m off Kubbar Island, whereas the third specimen was extracted from the burrow of the echiuran worm, Listriolobus cf. brevirostris Chen & Yeh, 1958, at the type locality of S. ikaros sp. nov. at Failaka Island. Material identified as S. gracilipes from across its wide distribution range appears to be morphologically heterogeneous, possibly containing more than one species, and thus will need further studies.

Keywords: Crustacea, Caridean shrimp, Alpheidae, Salmoneus, new species, new record, symbiosis, ghost shrimp, Kuwait, Arabian-Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean

Salmoneus ikaros sp. nov., holotype,
ovigerous specimen (cl 4.2 mm) from Failaka Island, Kuwait (OUMNH.ZC. 2020.01.045), living individual.

Photographs by Arthur Anker.

Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 

Salmoneus ikaros sp. nov.

Etymology. The new species is named after the ancient Greek name of the type locality, Ikaros, currently known as Failaka Island, Kuwait; used as a noun in apposition.

 Arthur Anker, Manal Al-Kandari and Sammy De Grave. 2020. On Two Species of the Alpheid Shrimp Genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 from Kuwait, One of them New To Science (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Caridea). Zootaxa. 4780(1); 77–92. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.1.3

[Entomology • 2020] Pseudoathyreus zianii • Species Delimitation by A Geometric Morphometric Analysis within the Genus Pseudoathyreus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Bolboceratidae) and Description of A New Species

Pseudoathyreus zianii 

Carpaneto & Romiti, 2020

DOI: 10.4081/fe.2020.399

 ABSTRACT

A geometric morphometric analysis, conducted as part of a taxonomic review of the genus Pseudoathyreus (Coleoptera: Bolboceratidae), allowed us to highlight the differences within a group of closely related species spread from the Sahel region to India, supporting the traditional morphological approach and confirming the presence of a newly discovered species (Pseudoathyreus zianii n. sp.).

Keywords: Morphology, biometry, taxonomy, biogeography, arid environments.

 Fig. 4 – Holotype specimen of Pseudoathyreus zianii n. sp.:
a-c, body from dorsal, frontal and lateral view with 5 mm scale bars; d-e, aedeagus from frontal and lateral view with 0.5 mm scale bars. Longitudinal axis of frontal view of the body (b) has been slightly tilted left side to allow a visual inspection of the external mar-gin of the left fore tibia, with five teeth rather than four teeth as on right tibia. 

Fig. 3 – Anterior pronotal border (APB) of two specimens for each investigated taxonomic unit:
a-b, P. flavohirtus complex from Fare (SA) and Massawa (ER); c-d, Pseudoathyreus zianii n. sp. from Riyadh (SA) and Kerman (IR); e-f, P. orientalis from Jaisalmer (IN) and Pilani (IN). See Table 2 for country codes.

Pseudoathyreus zianii n. sp. 

Diagnosis: The new species is easily distinguished from the other two species of the same group by the anterior border of pronotum with a wide-based and a more or less stout conic horn. On the contrary, P. orientalis and P. flavohirtus share a low transverse carina in the middle of APB with the profile of a narrow curly bracket, with either a small and pointed mid-dle horn in the former species or a small and smoothed one in the latter. The central horn of the widespread African species P. porcatus (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840) looks a little like that of P. zianii but is larger, sharkfin-shaped, with a laterally compressed apex.


Geographical distribution. Eastern part of the Arabian peninsula (i.e. Kuwait, Saudi Arabian coast on the Persian Gulf, UAE, Oman), southern Iran, southern Pakistan.

Name derivation. Named for our colleague and friend Stefano Ziani, renowned specialist of Coleoptera Scarabaeidae, who sent us the material of his collection, including the first specimen that turned out to belong to the new species.

Giuseppe Maria Carpaneto and Federico Romiti. 2020. Species Delimitation by A Geometric Morphometric Analysis within the Genus Pseudoathyreus and Description of A New Species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Bolboceratidae). Fragmenta entomologica. 52(1); 11–18. DOI: 10.4081/fe.2020.399

[Ichthyology • 2013] Redescription of Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), An Endangered Eagle Ray (Myliobatoidea: Myliobatidae) from the Indo–West Pacific

Abstract

The eagle ray Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) is redescribed based on new material from the Persian Gulf (Kuwait), Indonesia and Malaysia. A related but distinct species of Aetobatus from the western North Pacific, previously referred to as A. flagellum, is reported. Aetobatus flagellum is a medium-sized eagle ray which attains about 900 mm DW; males mature at approximately 500 mm DW. Aetobatus flagellum appears to be uncommon and restricted to estuary-influenced waters of the Indo–West Pacific. It is caught as gillnet bycatch where its habit of schooling, combined with probable small litter size, may make it particularly vulnerable to impacts from fisheries.

Keywords: Myliobatidae, Aetobatus flagellum, batoid, Indo–West Pacific, Aetobatus sp., estuarine

FIGURE 1. Aetobatus flagellum. A. original illustration from Bloch & Schneider (1801)

White, William T. & Alec B. M. Moore. 2013. Redescription of Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), An Endangered Eagle Ray (Myliobatoidea: Myliobatidae) from the Indo–West Pacific. Zootaxa. 3752(1): 199–213.

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3752.1.12
http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2013/f/zt03752p213.pdf