Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: molluscs
Clay Bryce independent.academia.edu
Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: molluscs
• A list of corals was compiled for 57 sites, including 16 sites on the mainland in the Milne Bay area, 5 sites in the D’Entrecasteaux Islands, 7 sites in the Amphlett Island Group, 26 sites in the Louisiade/Conflict Islands, and 3 sites in the vicinity of the Engineer Group and Basilaki-Sideia islands. • Milne Bay Province has a very diverse coral fauna. A total of 418 scleractinan corals were observed or collected during the present survey, which compares favorably with the total numbers from the Philippines (411) and Indonesia (427) in recently published reports. • A total of 494 species of stony coral are known from Papua New Guinea, including previous reports. This clearly places it within the area of the highest coral diversity in the world (“Coral Triangle”) along with the Philippines and Indonesia. • Acropora, Montipora, and Porites were dominant genera on Milne Bay reefs, with 94, 44, and 27 species respectively.

ABSTRACT. Vietnamese universities and research institutes of the Ministry of Fisheries maintain collections of molluscs for research, educational, and public information purposes. The deposited material has considerable historic value because the voucher specimens have been referred to in publications since 1937. However, at the moment many of the specimens have uncertain status. Thanks to funding by DANIDA/ENRECA, and the considerable effort of Vietnamese institutions, which have produced individual catalogues of species, the Tropical Marine Mollusc Programme (TMMP) presents voucher material available in those collections and make updated information internationally known for the first time. Judgements of the approximately 2200 names given to species deposited in Vietnam, and/or described in the literature, are due to the concerted efforts of resource persons of the TMMP. Classification by authors, obvious misidentification, and records of species not found in Vietnam are listed. However, we emphasize that in the majority of cases we have only judged the names given to species; not the actual specimens. Invariably this approach is associated with some qualified guessing, but taxa identified by TMMP resource persons during activities in Vietnam are specified in the list, which has an index to all taxa. The annotated inventory includes a bibliography of mollusc publications located in the library of the Institute of Oceanography, Nha Trang, in addition to remarks on published taxa, photographs of selected species, and a compilation of non-marine species in an annex. [2003. J. Hylleberg & R. N. Kilburn]

An annotated checklist of the Mollusca from the Australian Indian Ocean Territories (IOT) of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is presented. The checklist combines data from all previous studies and new material collected during the recent Christmas Island Expeditions organised by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (formerly the Raffles Museum of Biodiversty Resarch), Singapore. The checklist provides an overview of the diversity of the malacofauna occurring in the Cocos (Keeling) / Christmas Island ecoregion. A total of 1,178 species representing 165 families are documented, with 760 (in 130 families) and 757 (in 126 families) species recorded from Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, respectively. Forty-five species (or 3.8%) of these species are endemic to the Australian IOT. Fifty-seven molluscan records for this ecoregion are herein published for the first time. We also briefly discuss historical patterns of discovery and endemism in the malacofauna of the Australian IOT.

— Cardiids or marine cockles are one of the best known families of marine bivalves in the world, with a long history of study and collection given their large and accessible shells, a tractable level of biodiversity globally (~290 species) and a solid fossil record extending to the late Triassic. In Western Australia, the cardiids are well known relative to other marine bivalve families, having been the subject of focussed treatment and consist of 31 species. However, given the proximity to the Indo-West Pacific, sheer size of the state and almost unparalleled number of habitats, the diversity is likely underestimated. Over the last 40 years, ongoing expedition work coupled with taxonomic study by the authors, has resulted in a doubling of the cardiid fauna of Western Australia (WA). Current cardiid diversity now stands at 68 species, including seven species of giant clams (Tridacninae). Subfamilial representation has changed little (except for the addition of Tridacninae previously in its own family, the Tridacnidae), and key genera in Cardiinae (e.g. Fulvia), Fraginae (e.g. Fragum) and Trachycardiinae (e.g. Acrosterigma and Vasticardium) still deliver much of the diversity. This updated biodiversity census has implications within and beyond Western Australia, with 16 new species records for the state and 14 new records for Australia, including four new species: Acrosterigma extremattenuatum sp. nov., Ctenocardia pilbaraensis sp. nov., Microcardium scabrosum sp. nov. and Pratulum occidentale sp. nov. Further taxonomic decisions include recognition of Vasticardium serricostatum (Melvill & Standen, 1899) and Lunulicardia tumorifera (Lamarck, 1819) as distinct species. Vasticardium swanae Maxwell, Congdon & Rymer, 2016 is considered a new synonym of Cardium variegatum G.B. Sowerby II, 1840; Vasticardium lomboke Vidal, 2003 is considered a new synonym of Cardium mindanense Reeve, 1844 and Acrosterigma abrolhense Vidal, 1999 is considered a new synonym of Cardium cygnorum Deshayes, 1855. All subspecies in the Vasticardium elongatum (Bruguière, 1789) complex are raised to species level. New acquisitions arising from tropical survey work in the north have yielded all of the newly added species and all newly described species in the Western Australian Museum (WAM) cardiid collections. This is in contrast to the relatively stable biodiversity of southwestern Western Australia. In the north, diversity is highly structured with sixteen taxa found restricted to offshore islands and shoals (e.g. Vasticardium philippinense (Hedley, 1899), V. elongatum (Bruguière, 1789), Corculum cardissa (Linnaeus, 1758), Ctenocardia fornicata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1840), C. gustavi Vidal & Kirkendale, 2007), and a smaller cohort found exclusively inshore (e.g. A. extremattenuatum sp. nov., V. wilsoni (Voskuil & Onverwagt, 1991), C. pilbaraensis sp. nov.). Biodiversity comparisons are made with other tropical states in northern Australia, including the Northern Territory (NT) and Queensland (Qld), and considered together these records support recognition of a vast Dampierian Province. Regional biogegraphic comparisons are also made to examine whether cardiids in northern Australia are as diverse as other central Indo West Pacific (IWP) areas. To improve management of the commercially important Tridacninae (giant clams), we provide the first formal records of species diversity and distribution in this group for WA. While cardiids are relatively well characterised, persistent gaps remain that are not unique to this family. Our knowledge of small and/or cryptic species, as well as the deep water fauna broadly, lags behind our understanding of shallow water macromolluscs.

• A list of corals was compiled for 47 sites in the Togean Islands, Banggai Islands, and penisular reefs and shoals separating the two areas. These included 24 sites in the Togean Islands, 4 mainland penisule/shoals, 18 in the Banggai Islands, and one on a shoal that separates the two island groups. The survey involved 51 hours of scuba diving by D. Fenner to a maximum of 44 meters. • The Togean and Banggai Islands have a diverse coral fauna. A total of 314+ species were observed or collected during the survey. • Species numbers at visually sampled sites ranged from 34 to 106, with an average of 70 per site. Togean sites had slightly more species (average 74 per site) than the Banggai sites (average 67 per site), but the difference was not significant. • Despite a greater sampling effort (28 versus 19 sites) in the Togeans, slightly more species were recorded from the Banggai Islands (262 and 267 species, respectively). • Acropora, Montipora, and Porites were dominant, with 49, 21, and 12 species respectively; this is typical of Indo-Pacific reefs. • The overwhelming majority (94%) was zooxanthellate Scleractinia, with only a few non-sclearctinian and azooxanthellate species, as is typical of Indo-Pacific reefs. • At least six new species were collected during the survey: one species each of Acropora, Porites, Leptoseris, Echinophyllia, and two of Galaxea. In addition, 55 species were recorded from Indonesia for the first time.