Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Diversity of planktonic Ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) in the mixed layer of northeastern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon

Planktonic ostracods contribute significantly to the biomass of zooplankton in the Arabian Sea with an unusually high density due to swarming.  However, due to the small size, their abundance is often underestimated.  In this paper, the diversity of planktonic ostracods in the mixed layer depth of the northeastern Arabian Sea in relation to environmental parameters during the summer monsoon is presented.  The mean abundance in the mixed layer depth was very high.  About 26 species belonging to 17 genera representing two families were recognized.  Out of this, 25 species belonged to (3 sub families, 16 genera) the order Myodocopa and one to the order Myodocopida.  The dominant species were Cypridina dentata, Euconchoecia aculeata, Conchoecia subarcuata and Orthoconchoecia atlantica.  Cypridina dentata and Euconchoecia aculeata contributed to about 89% of the total abundance.  The results suggest that the distribution and diversity of ostracods were very much influenced by the hydrographic conditions of the Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon. </div

Siriella brevispina Biju, Jasmine & Panampunnayil, 2010, sp. nov.

Siriella brevispina sp. nov. (Fig. 4) Material examined. Holotype. Spent female (IOBC-0511H- 10-50 - 2010), 8.3 mm, dissected. Paratypes. 1 female with eggs (IOBC-0511P- 10-50 - 2010), 6.5 mm. – 1 immature female (partially damaged), (IOBC-0511- 10-50 - 2010). Type locality. Sta. 4 (36 ° 59 'S, 45 °E), southern Indian Ocean, 0 3.02.2004, 23: 32 hr., BN, sampling depth: surface waters. Diagnosis. Triangular rostrum. Labrum with long anterior process. Inner margin of uropodal endopod armed with 67 spines, arranged alternately with long and short spines; uropodal exopod armed with 4 spines. Telson short, lateral margin with 3 short spines, apical margin with 2 pairs of short spines and 1 pair of long plumose setae. Description. Rostrum produced anteriorly into triangular plate with concave lateral margin, extending to basal 1 / 4 of first segment of antennular peduncle (Fig. 4 A). Anterolateral corners of carapace rounded, posterior margin emarginated, leaving last 2 thoracic somites dorsally exposed. Eye of moderate size, extending to middle of first segment of antennular peduncle. Antennular peduncle slender, first segment narrow, as long as succeeding 2 segments combined, outer margin concave, with 2 long setae on dorsal corner (in figure, one masks the other). Second segment short, with 1 long seta on inner distal corner and 2 short and one long setae on outer distal corner; third segment with 1 long seta at distal 2 / 3 of inner margin and 3 long setae at inner distal corner (Fig. 4 B). Antennal scale extending near distal end of third segment of antennular peduncle, slightly more than 5 times as long as broad; outer margin naked, terminating in a spine, terminal lobe slightly shorter than broad; distal suture present (Fig. 4 C). Antennal peduncle slender, extending distal 1 / 3 of antennal scale, second segment longest, 4 times as long as third (Fig. 4 C). Labrum with long anterior process (Fig. 4 E). Endopod of first thoracic limb short, robust and terminating in strong claw (Fig. 4 D). Endopod of second thoracic limb, short, robust, merus longer than carpopropodus, terminal claw long and stout. Endopod of third to seventh thoracic limbs rather stout, carpopropodus not divided into subsegments, merus longer than carpopropodus, terminal claw moderately slender (Fig. 4 F–H). Endopod of eighth thoracic limbs missing from specimens. Uropodal exopod and endopod overreaching posterior end of telson (Fig. 4 J). Proximal end of exopod armed with 4 spines. Uropodal endopod slightly longer than exopod, armed on inner ventral margin with 67 spines showing alternate arrangement of 1 longer and 1 to 5 shorter ones (Fig. 4 J). Telson short, triangular, 1.2 times longer than width of base (Figs. 4 I, J). Lateral margin armed with 3 stout spines, first 2 closely set and last one set at relatively longer interval, posterior margin of telson slightly arched, with 2 pairs of stout spines; outer slightly longer than inner, and pair of plumose setae; small median spines absent (Figs. 4 I, J). Body length: mature female 8.3 mm. Etymology. The specific name refers to the short spines on the telson. Remarks. Murano and Fukuoka (2008) divided the genus Siriella into 9 groups and 5 subgroups of species from Pacific and Indian waters. Details of this classification have been described by Murano and Fukuoka (2008) and hence are not dealt with here. Siriella brevispina is allied to species of the Brevicaudatagroup and the Thompsonii-subgroup (Thompsonii-group). The new species is aligned with the Brevicaudatagroup in not only having a short telson, but also shares the following characters associated with the Thompsonii-subgroup: (1) anterior margin of carapace with triangular rostral plate, (2) labrum with long process on anterior margin, and (3) inner margin of the uropodal endopod showing alternate arrangement of longer and shorter spines. Examination of male specimens could bring more clarity to the affinity of this species to either the Brevicaudata or Thompsonii-group. The new species is easily distinguished from other species of this genus by the shape and spinulation of the telson, the labrum with a long anterior process and spinulation on the uropodal endopod.Published as part of Biju, Abraham, Jasmine, Purushothaman & Panampunnayil, Saramma U., 2010, Mysids (Crustacea: Peracarida) from the southern Indian Ocean with descriptions of two new species, pp. 33-46 in Zootaxa 2652 on pages 38-40, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19885

Siriella thompsonii H. Milne-Edwards 1837

Siriella thompsonii (H. Milne-Edwards, 1837) (Figs. 2, 3) Cynthia thompsonii H. Milne-Edwards 1837: 462. Cynthia inermis— Kroyer 1861: 44, figs. 6 a–g. Siriella indica — Czerniavsky 1882: 103. — Taf. 31, figs. 1–16. Siriella thompsonii — Sars 1883: 40 –41. — Thiele 1905: 447 –449, figs. 7–9. — Hansen 1910: 31. — Colosi 1922: 1 –22. — W. Tattersall 1913: 870 –871; 1923: 280; 1926: 9; 1939: 234; 1943: 63–64; 1951: 60–61. — Coifmann 1937: 21 –23, pl. 8, figs. 12 a–e, pl. 9, figs. 12 f–g. — Holmquist 1957: 44 –45. — O. Tattersall 1962: 223 –225, pl. 2. — Pillai 1973: 47, figs. 15–16. — Stuck et al. 1979: 234, figs. 2 f, 3 f, 4 f, 5 f. — Price et al. 1987: 47. — Escobar-Briones & Soto 1991: 80 – 89. — Wang & Liu 1994: 84 –86, fig. 11; 1997: 203. — Panampunnayil 2002: 371 –372, figs. 1 A–C. — Murano & Fukuoka 2008: 41 –45. Material examined. 1 female with eggs, Sta. 3 (35 ° 04'S, 44 ° 59 'E), southern Indian Ocean, 0 3.02.2004, 22: 33 hr., BN, sampling depth: surface waters. — 4 adult males, 2 immature males, 2 spent females, 1 female with eggs, 5 immature females, and 7 juveniles, Sta. 4 (36 ° 59 'S, 45 °E), southern Indian Ocean, 0 3.02.2004, 23: 32 hr., BN, sampling depth: surface waters. Diagnosis. Acute rostral projection. Large eyes. Antennal scale 4–5.6 times as long as broad. Uropodal exopod bears 2–8 spines, Lateral margin of telson bears 14–31 spines. Apex of telson subtruncate or slightly arched. Description. Carapace anteriorly produced into triangular narrow rostrum with pointed apex extending near middle of first antennular segment (Figs. 2 A, B); antero-lateral corners rounded. Eyes large with expanding cornea, nearly extending too distal end of first segment of antennular peduncle. Antennular peduncle of male much broader than female, second segment short, with 2 long setae on inner dorsal margin. First segment narrow, as long as third; outer margin concave, with 2–3 long and 2 small setae on distal corner (Fig. 2 C). Antennular peduncle of female slender, first segment narrow, as long as succeeding 2 segments combined, outer margin concave, with 2 long and 1 short setae on dorsal corner; second segment short, with 1 long setae on inner distal corner and 2 short setae on outer distal corner; third segment with 1 long seta at distal 1 / 3 of inner margin and 3 long setae at inner distal corner (Fig. 2 D). In male, antennal scale more slender than in female, 5.6 times as long as broad, extending to distal end of third segment of antennular peduncle, terminal lobe as long as broad; outer margin naked, terminating in spine; distal suture present (Fig. 2 E). Antennal scale of female extending near distal end of third segment of antennular peduncle, 5 times as long as broad; terminal lobe slightly shorter than broad; distal suture present (Fig. 2 F). Antennal peduncle in female more slender than in male (Figs. 2 E, F), extending little more than half of the antennal scale and in male extending to distal 1 / 3 of antennal scale; second segment longest, 3.6 times as long as third in male and four times as long as third in female. Labrum with long frontal process; tip slightly curved (Fig. 2 G). Second segment of mandibular palp expanded, 1.6 times as long as third segment in male (Fig. 2 H) and 1.8 times as long (Fig. 2 I), inner margin with 3 short setae in male and one short seta in female; outer margin with 16 long setae in male (Fig. 2 H) and 13 setae on corresponding part in female; third segment with 7 long setae in male and 3 long setae in female (Fig. 2 I) on proximal 2 / 3 part of outer margin. Mandible, maxillule, and maxilla are of type common for the genus (Figs. 2 J–L). Endopod of first thoracic limb short, robust, merus longer than carpopropodus terminating in strong claw (Fig. 3 A). Endopod of second thoracic limb, short, robust, merus longer than carpopropodus, terminal claw long and stout. Endopod of fourth to seventh thoracic limbs subequal, slightly longer than third (Fig. 3 B), becoming more slender towards posterior limbs, carpopropodus not divided into subsegments; terminal claw moderately slender (Figs. 3 B, C). Endopod of eighth thoracic limb more narrow than preceding limbs, carpoprodus slightly shorter than merus; not divided into subsegments (Fig. 3 D). First male pleopod; exopod 10 -segmented, endopod absent (Fig. 3 E). Second pleopod; endopod 11 and exopod 12 segmented (Fig. 3 F). In third to fifth pleopods, both rami with 12, 13 and 11 segments, respectively, and without any modified setae (Figs. 3 G–I). Pseudobrachial rami nearly straight in first and fifth pleopods and spirally coiled in second to fourth pleopods. Uropodal exopod and endopod overreaching telson (Fig. 3 J). Proximal segment of exopod armed with 7– 8 spines in adult male (Fig. 3 J) and 4–5 in adult female (Fig. 3 M). Uropodal endopod slightly longer than exopod, armed on inner ventral margin with 64–68 spines showing alternate arrangement of 1 longer and 1 to 5 shorter ones (Figs. 3 J, L). Telson 1.5 times longer than last abdominal segment, 2.7 times as long as broad in male (Fig. 3 J) and 2.8 times longer than broad in female (Fig. 3 N), extending beyond articulation of uropodal exopod. Lateral margin of telson armed with 2 stout spines on basal widened part, followed by comparatively narrow naked part, then posterior series of 27–29 spines in male (Fig. 3 J) and 20–22 spines in female, the spines gradually increasing length posteriorly (Fig. 3 N). Distal margin of telson slightly arched, with 2 pairs of long spines, outer slightly longer than inner, 3 median small spines and pair of plumose setae (Figs. 3 K, O). Body length: adult male 10.2–10.4 mm, adult female 8.7–9.7 mm. Remarks. The present specimens agree with previous descriptions, except for minor variations as follows: In the present specimens lateral margins of the telson bears 22-31 spines, while in earlier descriptions only 14-20 spines are reported (Sars 1885; Ii 1964; Pillai 1973). The present specimens measure up to 10.4 mm, which is the maximum size observed. Population differences of S. thompsonii have been observed in morphological characters (Ii 1964; Pillai 1973; Panampunnyil 2002). Tattersall (1962) reported that in many species of the genus Siriella, changes in form take place with growth even after the animal has attained sexual maturity. This fact is particularly noticeable in S. thompsonii. Distribution. Widely distributed in the tropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.Published as part of Biju, Abraham, Jasmine, Purushothaman & Panampunnayil, Saramma U., 2010, Mysids (Crustacea: Peracarida) from the southern Indian Ocean with descriptions of two new species, pp. 33-46 in Zootaxa 2652 on pages 35-38, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19885

Euchaetomera spinosa Biju, Jasmine & Panampunnayil, 2010, sp. nov.

Euchaetomera spinosa sp. nov. (Figs. 5, 6) Material examined. Holotype. Spent female (IOBC-0512H- 10-50 - 2010), 8.8 mm, dissected. Paratype. 1 female with eyed larvae (IOBC-0512P- 10-50 - 2010) 8.4 mm. Type locality. Sta. 7 (43 ° 01'S, 45 °E), southern Indian Ocean, 0 3.02.2004, 9:08 hr., MPN, sampling depth 40– 70 m. Diagnosis. Body spinous, ocular papilla absent. Antennal scale 6 times as long as broad, terminal spine overreaches terminal lobe, distal suture present. Telson armed with 5 spines along lateral margin, apex with 2 pairs of spines. Uropodal endopod with 1 spine on medial margin. Description. Body robust and spinous. Carapace short, posteriorly exposing last two thoracic somites. Frontal border of the carapace produced into sharp long spiniform rostral process, not reaching base of eyestalks; lateral border concave and armed with 8–9 short spines (Fig. 5 A). Anterolateral corners of the carapace obtusely rounded; posterior margin deeply emarginated and armed with spinules. Dorsal posterior part and lateral margin of carapace also armed with spinules. Eye large with two well developed groups of ocelli, projecting forward a little beyond the distal end of the second segment of the antennular peduncle. Between the two groups of ocelli, scale-like structures present in the proximal region, producing a serrated appearance. Ocular papilla absent (Fig. 5 B). Antennular peduncle slender, first segment longest, third slightly broader than other two. First segment with 2 long and 1 small setae on the outer distal corner. Outer margin of the third segment with 5 spiniform setae, inner distal corner bears 5–7 long setae (Figs. 5 C, D). Antennal scale about 6 times as long as broad, overreaching antennular peduncle; outer margin entire, slightly concave; terminal lobe longer than broad and 1 / 6 length of scale; outer terminal spine overreaching terminal lobe; distal suture present (Fig. 5 E). Second segment of the antennal peduncle 3 times as long as first and little less than twice as long as the third segment; base of the first segment bears 4 small spines and sympod bears 3 spines at outer distal corner (Fig. 5 E). Mandible with well developed incisor process, lacinia mobilis, spine row and molar process. Mandibular palp somewhat stout, inner margin of second segment armed with long plumose setae, third segment half as long as second, distal border truncate, armed with short and long pectinate setae (Fig. 5 G). Outer margin of third segment armed with short pectinate setae. Labrum rounded anteriorly without frontal process (Fig. 5 F). Inner lobe of maxillule with 12 plumose setae and 3 strong barbed spines, outer lobe with 9 barbed spines (Fig. 5 H). Maxilla with large basal lobe, distal lobe bifid, second segment of endopod quadrangular, exopod comparatively small and armed with 12 plumose setae (Fig. 5 I). Endopod of first and second thoracic limbs stout (Figs. 5 J, 6 A). Endopod of eighth thoracic limb very long and slender, carpopropodus divided into 3 segments, first longer than distal 2 combined, third segment slightly shorter than second, dactylus with short nail (Fig. 6 B). Female pleopods are seen as single plates with long plumose setae (Figs. 6 C–E), male pleopods unknown. Telson as long as sixth abdominal somite, somewhat longer than broad, lateral margin armed with 5 spines, apex truncate and little more than 1 / 2 of maximum width at base, armed with 2 pairs of spines, inner pair longer than outer, and 1 pair of long median plumose setae (Figs. 6 F, G). Endopod of uropod nearly three times as long as telson and with 1 long spine on inner margin near statocyst; exopod about 1.3 times longer than endopod (Fig. 6 F). Body length: Adult female 8.4–8.8 mm. Etymology. The specific name refers to the spines on the body. Remarks. The common and specific characteristics of Euchaetomera species are given in Table 2. The new species closely resembles E. zurstrasseni (Illig, 1906), but differs from it in the following characters: (1) In E. spinosa, an ocular papilla is absent while in E. zurstrasseni a long ocular papilla is present on the eye. (2) In E. spinosa the eyes just reach the second segment of the antennular peduncle while in E. zurstrasseni the eyes reach the distal portion of the third segment of the antennular peduncle. (3) A distal suture is present on the antennal scale of E. spinosa whereas it is absent in E. zurstrasseni. (4) In E. zurstrasseni, the antennal scale is 5 times as long as broad and the terminal spine do not overreach the terminal lobe, while in E. spinosa, the antennal scale is 6 times as long as broad and terminal spine overreaches the terminal lobe. (5) In E. zurstrasseni, 5 antennal sympodal spines are present while in E. spinosa only 3 spines are present. (6) In E. spinosa, the lateral margin of the telson bears 5 spines along the posterior and these are arranged on only 3 / 4 of its margin; the apex bears 2 pair of spines, while in E. zurstrasseni, 6 spines are arranged along the entire margin of the telson and the apex carries only 1 pair of spines. (7) In E. spinosa, the endopod of the uropod bears a single long spine near the statocyst while it is absent in E. zurstrasseni.Published as part of Biju, Abraham, Jasmine, Purushothaman & Panampunnayil, Saramma U., 2010, Mysids (Crustacea: Peracarida) from the southern Indian Ocean with descriptions of two new species, pp. 33-46 in Zootaxa 2652 on pages 40-44, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19885

Fig. 7 in Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India

Fig. 7. Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov., paratype (ZSI/TAR_IND/WB/E001), egg process details. A–B. An egg process under PCM and SEM with weakly visible reticulum. Black empty arrows indicate the cap like structure on the top of the process, black empty checkered arrows indicate the fine reticulation on the process. Scale bars: A = 10 μm; B = 1 μm.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Basu, Subhrangshu, Babu, Rahul, Siddique, Alfisa &amp; Purushothaman, Jasmine, 2023, Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India, pp. 23-48 in European Journal of Taxonomy 890 (1)&lt;/i&gt; on page 37, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.890.2249, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8284346"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/8284346&lt;/a&gt

Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India

Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. was discovered in a moss sample collected from a tree in West Bengal, India. We describe this new species using detailed morphological and morphometric data obtained from phase contrast microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, along with molecular and phylogenetic data analyses. Due to the presence of a cap-like structure at the distal portion of egg processes, the new species showed the highest similarity with Paramacrobiotus garynahi (Kaczmarek, Michalczyk & Diduszko, 2005), Paramacrobiotus alekseevi (Tumanov, 2005), Paramacrobiotus filipi Dudziak, Stec & Michalczyk, 2020, Paramacrobiotus sagani Daza, Caicedo, Lisi & Quiroga, 2017, Paramacrobiotus vanescens (Pilato, Binda & Catanzaro, 1991) and Paramacrobiotus gadabouti Kayastha, Stec, Mioduchowska & Kaczmarek, 2023. However, it can be differentiated from them by some morphological and morphometric characteristics. The genetic data corroborated our phenotypic outcome further supporting the new species hypothesis

Fig. 5 in Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India

Fig. 5. Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov., paratype (ZSI/TAR_IND/WB/E001). A. Entire egg under SEM. B–F. Eggs seen in PCM under 1000 × magnification. B. Midsection. D–F. Surfaces. Scale bars: A = 3 μm; B–F = 10 μm.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Basu, Subhrangshu, Babu, Rahul, Siddique, Alfisa &amp; Purushothaman, Jasmine, 2023, Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India, pp. 23-48 in European Journal of Taxonomy 890 (1)&lt;/i&gt; on page 35, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.890.2249, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8284346"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/8284346&lt;/a&gt

Fig. 1 in Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India

Fig. 1. Type locality of the new taxa (marked with red square).Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Basu, Subhrangshu, Babu, Rahul, Siddique, Alfisa &amp; Purushothaman, Jasmine, 2023, Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India, pp. 23-48 in European Journal of Taxonomy 890 (1)&lt;/i&gt; on page 25, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.890.2249, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8284346"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/8284346&lt;/a&gt

Fig. 2 in Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India

Fig. 2. Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. A. Holotype (ZSI-HQ/GNC/T1/1), habitus, dorso-ventral projection. B–C. Paratypes (ZSI-HQ/GNC/T2/1). B. Habitus dorsal projection. C. Scanning electron microphotograph of a whole specimen. Scale bars: A, C = 100 μm; B = 200 μm.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Basu, Subhrangshu, Babu, Rahul, Siddique, Alfisa &amp; Purushothaman, Jasmine, 2023, Integrative description of Paramacrobiotus bengalensis sp. nov. (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), a new limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from the state of West Bengal, India, pp. 23-48 in European Journal of Taxonomy 890 (1)&lt;/i&gt; on page 31, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.890.2249, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8284346"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/8284346&lt;/a&gt