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Plakobranchus papua Meyers-Muñoz & van der Velde, sp. n. from West Papua (Papua Barat province, Indonesia), is described based on its external morphology, colour pattern, internal anatomy, radula and reproductive system. In a molecular phylogenetic study specimens of this new species were compared with those of ten candidate taxa under the name Plakobranchus ocellatus van Hasselt, 1824. DNA analyses of COI mtDNA showed a clear distinction between P. papua sp. n. and "P. ocellatus". Plakobranchus papua, sp. n. also differed from all taxa that have been synonymised with P. ocellatus. The genus is in dire need of taxonomic revision, preferably based on an integrative analysis involving morphology and DNA of all known Plakobranchus varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral gall crabs form a commonly overlooked component of the associated fauna of shallow-water reef corals and therefore little is known about their ecology and biogeography. This study investigated the biogeography and phylogenetic position of the informal ‘Detocarcini’ species group within the Cryptochiridae. We used molecular data for two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S) obtained from gall crabs covering (part of) a wide geographic range: the Red Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Caledonia. Our phylogeny reconstructions portrayed the ‘Detocarcini’ as paraphyletic within the monophyletic Cryptochiridae. A phylogeographic clustering was noticed inNeotroglocarcinus dawydoffithat was absent in its sister species,N.hongkongensis, and the closely related speciesPseudocryptochirus viridis. A Neighbour Network was estimated for theN.dawydoffidataset to visualize the similarity between sequences from different biogeographic areas, resulting in three groupings: (1) New Caledonia with Lembeh/Ternate (eastern Indonesia), (2) Semporna/Kudat (eastern Malaysia), and (3) Red Sea (Saudi Arabia). Cryptic speciation rather than isolation is discussed and rejected as an alternative explanation for the observed biogeographic pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The evolution of symbiotic relationships involving reef corals has had much impact on tropical marine biodiversity. Because of their endosymbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) corals can grow fast in tropical shallow seas where they form reefs that supply food, substrate and shelter for other organisms. Many coral symbionts are host-specific, depending on particular coral species for their existence. Some of these animals have become popular objects for underwater photographers and aquarists, whereas others are hardly noticed or considered pests. Loss of a single coral host species also leads to the disappearance of some of its associated fauna. In the present study we show which mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) are known to act as hosts for other organisms, such as acoel flatworms, copepods, barnacles, gall crabs, pontoniine shrimps, mytilid bivalves, epitoniid snails, coralliophilid snails, fish and certain types of zooxanthellae. Several of these associated organisms appear to be host-specific whereas other species are generalists and not even necessarily restricted to fungiid hosts. Heliofungia actiniformis is one of the most hospitable coral species known with a recorded associated fauna consisting of at least 23 species. The availability of a phylogeny reconstruction of the Fungiidae enables comparisons of closely related species of mushroom corals regarding their associated fauna. Application of a phylogenetic ecological analysis indicates that the presence or absence of associated organisms is evolutionarily derived or habitat-induced. Some associations appear to be restricted to certain evolutionary lineages within the Fungiidae, whereas the absence of associated species may be determined by ecomorphological traits of the host corals, such as coral dimensions (coral diameter and thickness) and polyp shape (tentacle size). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During the Snellius expedition (1929-30) in eastern Indonesia and the Philippines, a large collection of Acropora corals was made. This collection is comprised of roughly 700 specimens, many of which remain unidentifi ed. In this paper we discuss species of the Acropora humilis group collected during the expedition and compare the records with the known distribution ranges in Indonesia. New records are found, most notably for Acropora multiacuta, A. retusa and A. fastigata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]