Occurrence of the newly described kinorhynch genus Meristoderes (Cyclorhagida: Echinoderidae) in Korea, with the description of four new species

TY - JOUR

T1 - Occurrence of the newly described kinorhynch genus Meristoderes (Cyclorhagida: Echinoderidae) in Korea, with the description of four new species

AU - Sørensen, Martin Vinther

AU - Rho, Hyun Soo

AU - Min, Won-Gi

AU - Kim, Dongsung

AU - Chang, Cheung Young

PY - 2013/6

Y1 - 2013/6

N2 - Meristoderes is the most recently described kinorhynch genus and has until now only accommodated its type species M. macracanthus from the Mediterranean and M. galatheae from the Solomon Islands in Southeast Asia. The present contribution is an account on the genus based on samples from the ongoing exploration of the kinorhynch fauna in coastal and subtidal waters around in the Korean Peninsula. The samples yielded no less than five new species of Meristoderes, of which four are formally described herein, whereas only diagnostic notes are provided for the fifth. The descriptions are supplemented with a key to species of the genus, and morphological notes on the organization of cephalic structures and cuticular trunk structures. New morphological findings include intrageneric variation in the composition of the terminal segment, which may have either one unpaired or two paired tergal plates. The data also show that the differentiation of a tergal and sternal plate in segment 2 varies greatly between the species. Results of the present study indicate that the genus probably holds a significant, unrecovered biodiversity, but the data also shed light on potential future taxonomic problems among genera of Echinoderidae and stress the importance of identifying additional diagnostic traits to define Meristoderes.

AB - Meristoderes is the most recently described kinorhynch genus and has until now only accommodated its type species M. macracanthus from the Mediterranean and M. galatheae from the Solomon Islands in Southeast Asia. The present contribution is an account on the genus based on samples from the ongoing exploration of the kinorhynch fauna in coastal and subtidal waters around in the Korean Peninsula. The samples yielded no less than five new species of Meristoderes, of which four are formally described herein, whereas only diagnostic notes are provided for the fifth. The descriptions are supplemented with a key to species of the genus, and morphological notes on the organization of cephalic structures and cuticular trunk structures. New morphological findings include intrageneric variation in the composition of the terminal segment, which may have either one unpaired or two paired tergal plates. The data also show that the differentiation of a tergal and sternal plate in segment 2 varies greatly between the species. Results of the present study indicate that the genus probably holds a significant, unrecovered biodiversity, but the data also shed light on potential future taxonomic problems among genera of Echinoderidae and stress the importance of identifying additional diagnostic traits to define Meristoderes.

U2 - 10.1007/s10152-012-0323-2

DO - 10.1007/s10152-012-0323-2

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1438-387X

VL - 67

SP - 291

EP - 319

JO - Helgoland Marine Research

JF - Helgoland Marine Research

IS - 2

ER -