Gisele Kawauchi

ABSTRACT Two new species of the genus Nephasoma, phylum Sipuncula, are described from subtropical waters of the western Atlantic. Nephasoma (Nephasoma) columbaris is described from the central east coast of Florida where it is found along the edge of the continental shelf at depths of 61 to 104 m associated with the rubble from the reefs of the deep water coral Oculina varicosa. A second species, Nephasoma (Nephasoma) ditadii, is described from Brazilian waters in sand habitats at 150 m on the continental shelf off the coast of the state of São Paulo. Morphology of the two species is compared with allied species in the genus and the phylum. Usage in the taxonomic literature of the diagnostic characters “shield” and “pseudoshield” is reviewed and evaluated.

Phascolosoma perlucens is one of the most common intertidal sipunculan species and has been considered a circumtropical cosmopolitan taxon due to the presence of a long-lived larva. To verify whether P. perlucens is a true cosmopolitan species or a complex of cryptic forms, we examined the population structure and demographics of 56 putative P. perlucens individuals from 13 localities throughout the tropics. Analysis of two mitochondrial markers, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA, suggests high levels of genetic differentiation between distantly located populations of P. perlucens. At least four different lineages identified morphologically as P. perlucens were distinguished. These lineages are likewise supported by phylogenetic analysis of the two mitochondrial markers and by the haplotype network analysis. Our results suggest that P. perlucens is a case of overconservative taxonomy, rejecting the alleged cosmopolitanism of P. perlucens. However, cryptic speciation also exists in some areas, including a possible case of geminate species across the Isthmus of Panama.

The various shapes, size and fine details of ossicles are of paramount importance as systematic characters in the Echinodermata. The ossicles in this group are endodermal and a method to free them from the dermis is essential for their study. To date, a small quantity of hypochlorite solution (usually household liquid bleach) has been used to dissolve a small piece of tissue and, consequently, free these ossicles. A new method, using a proteolytic enzyme instead of hypochlorite solution to dissolve holothurian tissues, is proposed. This method was tested on fragments of body tissues from three species in three different orders of holothurians: Holothuria grisea Selenka, 1867 (Aspidochirotida), Duasmodactyla seguroensis (Deichmann, 1930) (Dendrochirotida) and Synaptula secreta Ancona Lopez (1957) (Apodida). Observations of material prepared using the hypochlorite and the enzyme methods were made using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images show the striking differences in the surface of the ossicles obtained by each method, and reveal the advantages of the enzyme method.

Catiniid copepods are characterized by the presence of a pedunculate sucker on the antenna. Four genera are currently included in the family Catiniidae: Catinia, Cotylemyzon, Cotylomolgus and Myzomolgus, the most speciose. Within the framework of the Special Research Program "Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biodiversity of the State of São Paulo – Biota/FAPESP", a new species of Myzomolgus was found as an external associate of Sipunculus nudus and S. phalloides phalloides. The sipunculan worms were collected during the low tide in Araçá Beach, State of São Paulo, Brazil (23º49’02"S, 45º24’19"W). The new species differs from its three congeners, namely M. stupendus from France and M. tenuis and M. orientalis from Korea, by the peculiar ornamentation of the third antennal segment, morphology of mandible and leg 6 and presence of denticulate area between maxillipeds. The description of this new species raises to four the number of catiniid species (one of Catinia and two of Myzomolgus) associated with the widely distributed S. nudus. In Brazil, this is the first record of Myzomolgus and the second species associated with sipunculan worms (a new species of Catinia found on S. phalloides phalloides is under description).