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1. Review of the hagfishes (Myxinidae) from the Galapagos Islands, with descriptions of four new species and their phylogenetic relationships

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa178  

   Mincarone, M ; Plachetzki, D ; McCord, C ; Winegard, T ; Fernholm, B ; Gonzalez, C ; Fudge, D ( February 2021 , Zoological journal of the Linnean Society)

   null (Ed.)

   Hagfishes are an ancient group of benthic marine craniates that are found in deep or cold waters around the world. Among the 83 valid species, four are described from the Galapagos Islands: Eptatretus bobwisneri, E. grouseri, E. mccoskeri and Rubicundus lakeside. During a recent expedition to the archipelago, six species of hagfishes were collected, including four undescribed species of the genera Eptatretus (Eptatretus goslinei sp. nov.) and Myxine (Myxine greggi sp. nov., M. martinii sp. nov. and M. phantasma sp. nov.). In this paper, we provide a review of the eight species of hagfishes from the Galapagos Islands, including new diagnoses and an identification key for all species. Myxine phantasma is remarkable in that it is the only species of Myxine known to completely lack melaninbased pigments. Our species delineations were based on both morphological and molecular analyses. A phylogenetic hypothesis based on molecular data suggests that Galapagos hagfishes arose from multiple independent colonisations of the islands from as many as five different ancestral lineages. The large number of endemic hagfishes in the geologically young Galapagos Islands suggests that there is much global hagfish diversity yet to be discovered. 

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2. Haraldiophyllum hawaiiense sp. nov. (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta): a new mesophotic genus record for the Hawaiian Islands

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4490/algae.2020.35.11.5  

   Paiano, M.O. ; Huisman, J.M. ; Cabrera, F.P. ; Spalding, H.L. ; Kosaki, R.K. ; Sherwood, A.R. ( October 2020 , Algae)

   null (Ed.)

   Haraldiophyllum hawaiiense sp. nov. is described as a new mesophotic alga and a new genus record for the Hawaiian Islands. Six specimens were collected at a depth range of 81-93 m from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and their morphology investigated, as well as molecular phylogenetic analyses of the plastidial ribulose-1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase–oxygenase large-subunit (rbcL) gene and a concatenated alignment of rbcL and nuclear large-subunit rRNA gene (LSU) sequences. Phylogenetic analyses supported H. hawaiiense sp. nov. as a distinct lineage within the genus Haraldiophyllum, and sister to a large clade containing the type species, H. bonnemaisonii, as well as H. crispatum and an undescribed European specimen. The six Hawaiian specimens were shown to be identical, but unique among other species of the genus as well as the recently segregated genus Neoharaldiophyllum, which comprises half of the species previously included in Haraldiophyllum. The vegetative morphology of H. hawaiiense sp. nov. resembles Neoharaldiophyllum udoense (formerly H. udoensis); however, no female or post-fertilization structures were found in the Hawaiian specimens to allow a more comprehensive comparison. The molecular phylogenies demonstrate that Haraldiophyllum is paraphyletic, suggesting either that the Myriogrammeae tribe includes undescribed genera, including Haraldiophyllum sensu stricto, or that Neoharaldiophyllum species should be transferred into the genus Haraldiophyllum. However, based on vegetative morphology and molecular analyses, and pending resolution of this taxonomic issue, the Hawaiian specimens are placed within the genus Haraldiophyllum. This new record for the Hawaiian Islands highlights the novel biodiversity from mesophotic depths, reaffirming the need for further investigation into the biodiversity of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. 

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3. Characterization of body knotting behavior used for escape in a diversity of hagfishes

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12752  

   Haney, W. A. ; Clark, A. J. ; Uyeno, T. A. ( December 2019 , Journal of Zoology)

   Hagfishes possess flexible bodies that allow them to tie and manipulate body knots. These knots are used to remove mucous from the body, escape tight spaces, pull prey from burrows and, since they lack opposable jaws, to create leverage during feeding events. Despite its importance, knotting is poorly understood because this fast and three‐dimensionally complex behavior is difficult to study both in the laboratory and in their natural benthic habitats. To consistently stimulate analyzable knotting behaviors, we developed a novel restraint device to record high‐speed, biplanar video in three species of hagfish from two major taxa (Eptatretinae and Myxininae):Eptatretus stoutii,Eptatretus springeriandMyxine glutinosa. These data were analyzed to characterize knot type and kinematics of knot formation. We found that despite reduced radii of curvature and strain associated with more complex knots, all species of hagfish preferred the simplest overhand knots. While all species were physically capable of tying more complex knots,E. stoutiiexhibited a lower ‘behavioral’ stiffness by tying complex knots more frequently and coiling when at rest. The hyper‐flexible, hyper‐redundant hagfish body may require a high level of neural input for control. However, analyses of knotting motions indicate that hagfish seem to employ only four movements (body bends, twists, surface contacts and tail insertions into body loops) but in different combinations depending on the knot being tied. Furthermore, these movements and combinations are conserved across all species tested. We hypothesize that control of knotting in hagfish may employ motor primitives to reduce neural input.

    

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4. Calliblepharis yasutakei sp. nov. and Hypnea tsudae sp. nov. (Cystocloniaceae, Rhodophyta): novel diversity from the Hawaiian Islands

   https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.572.1.5  

   PAIANO, MONICA O. ; FUMO, JAMES T. ; CABRERA, FERESA P. ; KOSAKI, RANDALL K. ; SPALDING, HEATHER L. ; SHERWOOD, ALISON R. ( November 2022 , Phytotaxa)

   Surveys of Hawaiian macroalgae over the past 15 years have yielded numerous specimens representing species new to science. Calliblepharis yasutakei sp. nov. is here described based on a plant collected at a depth of 98 m from Kapou, Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument, Hawaiʻi. Phylogenetic analyses of three molecular markers (COI, rbcL, and SSU) and analyses of morphological features were used to describe the new species in the family Cystocloniaceae. Calliblepharis yasutakei sp. nov. grouped with C. fimbriata, C. rammediorum, C. occidentalis and C. jolyi in a clade with full support for the rbcL analysis, representing a distinct lineage within the genus. Phylogenetic and vegetative morphological comparisons demonstrated that the new Hawaiian species is most closely related to C. rammediorum from Israel (rbcL similarity of 96.3%), although no female reproductive structures were found to allow a more comprehensive comparison. In order to determine whether C. yasutakei represents the first confirmed report of the genus Calliblepharis in the Hawaiian Islands, phylogenetic and morphological analysis of the Hawaiian Hypnea saidana (=Calliblepharis saidana) specimen accessioned at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum was performed. These analyses demonstrated that this specimen belongs to a new species in the genus Hypnea, which is here described as H. tsudae sp. nov. C. yasutakei, in addition to being a new species, is also reported as the first confirmed record of the genus Calliblepharis in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the description of H. tsudae brings the number of species for this genus in Hawaiʻi to eight. 

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5. Diversity of Kallymeniaceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) associated with Hawaiian mesophotic reefs

   https://doi.org/10.1080/09670262.2021.1891462  

   Cabrera, Feresa P. ; Huisman, John M. ; Spalding, Heather L. ; Kosaki, Randall K. ; Sherwood, Alison R. ( April 2021 , European Journal of Phycology)

   null (Ed.)

   Small red algal morphologically variable blades have been extensively collected from Hawaiian reefs, but for many specimens their taxonomy remains poorly understood. In surveys of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) and Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), we discovered two taxa of undescribed small (< 5 cm) red blades that matched the genera Psaromenia and Meredithia, based on morphology and molecular analyses. Neither genus has been previously recorded in the Hawaiian Islands, and neither group of specimens matched currently described species in these two genera. Accordingly, these specimens are described here as new species within the family Kallymeniaceae. Psaromenia laulamaula sp. nov., exclusively found at mesophotic depths (83–94 m) in PMNM, is easily distinguished from other members of the genus by its comparatively large, procarpic carpogonial branch system and solitary obovate pink-tomagenta blades. Conversely, Meredithia hawaiiensis sp. nov., occurring in both shallow (0–17 m) and mesophotic depths (55 m), has high morphological plasticity, with characters that overlap with other Meredithia species, and can only be distinguished based on DNA sequences. This study provides additional evidence of the extent of diversity in the Kallymeniaceae that is poorly characterized from mesophotic depths and provides further evidence that members of the macroalgal flora contain overlooked biodiversity. 

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