Studies on the Crustacea of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. II. Armadilloniscus steptus, N. Sp. (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Scyphacidae) from Pine Cay

Armadilloniscus steptus, n. sp., the second species of this genus from the Caribbean Sea, is described and distinguished from the other five species from the New World. The new species, collected from the upper intertidal zone on Pine Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands, differs from A. coronacapitalis, A. ellipticus, A. holmesi, A. lindahli, and A. ninae by the greater degree of tuberculation of the integument, smaller size at maturity, and sexual dimorphism in the structure of the pleon

Studies on the Crustacea of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. II. Armadilloniscus steptus, N. Sp. (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Scyphacidae) from Pine Cay

Armadilloniscus steptus, n. sp., the second species of this genus from the Caribbean Sea, is described and distinguished from the other five species from the New World. The new species, collected from the upper intertidal zone on Pine Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands, differs from A. coronacapitalis, A. ellipticus, A. holmesi, A. lindahli, and A. ninae by the greater degree of tuberculation of the integument, smaller size at maturity, and sexual dimorphism in the structure of the pleon

Studies on the Crustacea of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. III. Records of Marine Isopoda from Pine Cay, Fort George Cay, Water Cay, and Adjacent Waters

Between April 1987 and April 1990, 45 species of marine isopods were collected from intertidal and subtidal habitats in the vicinity of Pine Cay, Turks and Caicos, British West Indies. Five species, Licranthura tuberculata, Mesanthura spongicola, Califanthura minuta, Stenetrium caicoensis, and Armadilloniscus stepus, are known currently only from the northeastern Turks and Caicos Islands. The Turks and Caicos collections represent considerable range extensions for many of the species collected. Four species, Apanthura cracenta, Mesanthura punctillata, Carpias triton, and Munna petronastes, known previously from the east coast of Central America (Belize), are reported for the first time since their description. This report also presents the first published records from outside of their respective type localities for Amakusanthura significa, Mexicope kensleyi, Carpias brachydactylus, Carpias serricaudus, Uromunna caribea, Stenetrium monocule, and Stenobermuda acutirostrata. The other species reported, mostly flabelliferans, appear to be widely distributed in the tropical westem North Atlantic and their occurrence in the Turks and Caicos was not unexpected

The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity

Background: The question of how many marine species exist is important because it provides a metric for how much we do and do not know about life in the oceans. We have compiled the first register of the marine species of the world and used this baseline to estimate how many more species, partitioned among all major eukaryotic groups, may be discovered. Results: There are ∼226,000 eukaryotic marine species described. More species were described in the past decade (∼20,000) than in any previous one. The number of authors describing new species has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of new species described in the past six decades. We report that there are ∼170,000 synonyms, that 58,000–72,000 species are collected but not yet described, and that 482,000–741,000 more species have yet to be sampled. Molecular methods may add tens of thousands of cryptic species. Thus, there may be 0.7–1.0 million marine species. Past rates of description of new species indicate there may be 0.5 ± 0.2 million marine species. On average 37% (median 31%) of species in over 100 recent field studies around the world might be new to science. Conclusions: Currently, between one-third and two-thirds of marine species may be undescribed, and previous estimates of there being well over one million marine species appear highly unlikely. More species than ever before are being described annually by an increasing number of authors. If the current trend continues, most species will be discovered this century

A New Anchialine Shrimp Of The Genus Procaris (Crustacea: Decapoda: Procarididae) From The Yucatan Peninsula

Volume: 117Start Page: 514End Page: 52

Studies on the Crustacea of the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. III. Records of Marine Isopoda from Pine Cay, Fort George Cay, Water Cay, and Adjacent Waters

Volume: 8Start Page: 251End Page: 25

The Magnitude of Global Marine Species Diversity

Background The question of how many marine species exist is important because it provides a metric for how much we do and do not know about life in the oceans. We have compiled the first register of the marine species of the world and used this baseline to estimate how many more species, partitioned among all major eukaryotic groups, may be discovered. Results There are ∼226,000 eukaryotic marine species described. More species were described in the past decade (∼20,000) than in any previous one. The number of authors describing new species has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of new species described in the past six decades. We report that there are ∼170,000 synonyms, that 58,000–72,000 species are collected but not yet described, and that 482,000–741,000 more species have yet to be sampled. Molecular methods may add tens of thousands of cryptic species. Thus, there may be 0.7–1.0 million marine species. Past rates of description of new species indicate there may be 0.5 ± 0.2 million marine species. On average 37% (median 31%) of species in over 100 recent field studies around the world might be new to science. Conclusions Currently, between one-third and two-thirds of marine species may be undescribed, and previous estimates of there being well over one million marine species appear highly unlikely. More species than ever before are being described annually by an increasing number of authors. If the current trend continues, most species will be discovered this century