Harpacticoida (Copepoda) fauna and the taxocene diversity of the South China Sea

The full characterized list of known species of Harpacticoida is presented for the South China Sea based on original and literature data. Three Harpacticoida taxocenes from soft sediments are described on the littoral and sublittoral of shallows of Nha Trang Bay (Vietnam). The first taxocene is represented by dominating species of the genuses Phyllopodopsyllus and Brianola at the upper and middle littorals. The second one, which is characterized by dominating species of the genus Diarthrodes, is found on sublittoral, silty and fine sands. The third taxocene with dominating species of the genus Amphiascoides is described at coarse sands. The sediment type is a main factor of the organization of sublittoral harpacticoids associations. The depth also has an effect on the harpacticoids diversity and abundance. A comparative analysis of the Harpacticoida species composition is presented for the South China Sea, the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, New Guinea, the Yellow Sea, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The similarity of the species lists of the considered sector of the Indo-Pacific is extremely low. The main reason for the present high specificity of the faunas of the compared regions is the deficit of studies on Harpacticoida in tropical waters

FIRST DATA ON AQUATIC MITES (ACARI) OF INLAND WATER BODIES OF WEST SPITSBERGEN, SVALBARD

This paper presents the first results of a study on the aquatic mites (Acari) from the inland water bodies of West Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Six mite species have been found: namely, the oribatids Camisia foveolata Hammer, 1955 and Ameronothrus lineatus (Thorell, 1871); the gamasid mite Halolaelaps sp.; as well as the halacarids Halacarellus sp., Isobactrus levis (Viets, 1927) and Rhombognathides spinipes (Viets, 1933). The latter two species are new to the fauna of Svalbard. No true freshwater mites (Hydrachnidia) have been identified. A preliminary comparison of the inland aquatic acarofauna of Svalbard with the fauna of other Arctic regions has been conducted. The entire halacarid mite fauna of Svalbard (13 species), including both inland water species and true marine ones from the surrounding seas, can be characterized as rather regionally specialized and mainly cryophilic. DOI: 10.21684/0132-8077-2017-25-2-181-18

Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) of the South China Sea: faunistic and biogeographical analysis

Based on original and on published databases, a compendium of the Harpacticoida of the South China Sea is presented, and the distributional range of species is discussed. Up to now, a total of 77 harpacticoid species belonging to 57 genera and 19 families have been recorded in this region. Twenty of these species, collected in Nha-Trang Bay (Vietnam), have not hitherto been described. The most speciose families are the Miraciidae (20 species) and the Laophontidae (9 species). Thirteen families were represented by one to three species only and six families by four to seven species. A brief comparison is presented between the harpacticoid fauna of the South China Sea, the Philippine Islands, the inner Malayan Archipelago (Java, Flores, Banda, and Celebes Seas), New Guinea, the Yellow Sea, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The overall similarity between the species lists of these areas was observed to be extremely low (average value of Simpson index is 0.15 +/- A 0.08). The lists of planktonic species from the different areas showed the highest similarity. The lowest similarity (highest endemism) was observed between the lists of interstitial species. It is likely that one of the factors determining the differences between the faunas is the poor knowledge about the composition and distribution of benthic harpacticoids in tropical latitudes