An annotated checklist of the Amphipoda (Crustacea) of Kuwait, north-western Arabian Gulf

Kuwaits intertidal and subtidal habitats were surveyed from 2013 to 2016 for amphipods, and earlier records from Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf were compared to provide the first annotated checklist of Amphipoda in Kuwait. A total of 82 sites in mainland and islands were surveyed including intertidal and subtidal zones. The resulting data identified 86 amphipod taxa belonging to 54 genera, 32 families and 3 suborders, including 20 new records to science that are currently being described. A total of 46 amphipod species, 34 genera and 19 families constituted new regional records either for Kuwait or the entire Gulf area. Information on local distribution, occurrence, and habitat are provided for each species. Within the tidal zonation, 50 species inhabited both the intertidal and subtidal areas, 19 were intertidal, 12 subtidal, and 3 species were found in the supratidal zone. Sandy and rocky shores supported the most diverse amphipod assemblages. A gradient of increasing amphipod species richness from north to south along Kuwaits mainland coastline was revealed. The high level of regional endemism supported notable taxonomic distinction of the amphipod fauna of Kuwait from the other Gulf areas. Compositional dissimilarity among amphipod faunas increased with distance within a wide longitudinal gradient across the Gulf, Sea of Oman, and north-western Arabian Sea.

Differential food utilization of benthic amphipods of a tropical estuary: a stable isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) investigation

Globally, stable isotopic methods are rapidly being employed in food web studies to quantify the relative proportions of diverse primary carbon sources in an animal diet. Tropical estuarine ecosystems, one of the vital marine habitats, harbor complex food webs due to the multiplicity of habitats and resources. The complex system of inputs and exchanges of organic matter sometimes complicate identification of the carbon sources that support the higher trophic levels. To assess the primary food sources of four abundant amphipod species in the anthropogenically influenced upper Vashishti estuary, Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotopes were employed. Seasonal variations were significant for δ13C and δ15N of suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM) and also for δ13C of sediment organic matter (SOM), but not for the isotopic values of individual amphipod species. Significant variations in the δ13C and δ15N values between amphipods suggested species-specific diets. Mixing model output indicated discrepancies in seasonal variations of food preferences between species. Trophic level values of all amphipod species indicated seasonality with lower values during post-monsoon. The low δ15N values of SPOM, SOM, and amphipod species were possibly due to the anthropogenic input of nitrogen in the estuary.

Origin and evolution of the Haustoriidae (Amphipoda): a eulogy for the Haustoriidira

Haustoriid amphipods have received little recent attention and their systematics and phylogenetics are largely unresolved. Some efforts have been made at classifying the family within the broader Amphipoda, but there is persistent incongruence in its placement among different authors and techniques. Furthermore, there exists no phylogenetic hypothesis of intrafamilial relationships. In this work, we evaluate the competing hypotheses on the phylogenetic position of the Haustoriidae within Amphipoda by examining new and previously published sequences of nearly 100 species across 38 families. We find strong support for the Haustoriidae as basal gammarids, and that other families placed within the parvorder ‘Haustoriidira’ are spread across Amphipoda. The radiation began during the Eocene and may have been driven in North America by the rapid filling of a coastal niche opened by the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. Unlike previous work, we find that the Pacific-endemic genus Eohaustorius is the most basal haustoriid, and that it separated from the rest of the family ~31 Mya. Finally, we provide taxonomic recommendations for relationships within Haustoriidae, including the elevation of a new genus, Cryptohaustorius gen. nov.. We conclude by recommending that the ‘Haustoriidira’ be abandoned.

A taxonomic revision helps to clarify differences between the Atlantic invasive Ptilohyale littoralis and the Mediterranean endemic Parhyale plumicornis (Crustacea, Amphipoda)

Ptilohyale explorator (formerly Parhyale explorator), described by Arresti (1989), can be considered to be a synonym of west-Atlantic Ptilohyale littoralis (Stimpson, 1853), based on morphological observations of paratypes and specimens recently collected in the type locality of Ptilohyale explorator. The first collections of Ptilohyale littoralis, from the eastern Atlantic were from the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) in 2009 and later in Wimereux, Opal Coast (France) in 2014; however, the synonymy of Ptilohyale explorator with Ptilohyale littoralis backdates to the first European record of Ptilohyale littoralis in 1985 at La Vigne, Bay of Arcachon (France). This indicates that Ptilohyale littoralis has been established along European Atlantic coast for many years. An assessment of the nominal valid species belonging to the genus Ptilohyale was carried out and a comparison between the Atlantic Ptilohyale littoralis and the very similar Mediterranean hyalid species, Parhyale plumicornis, is presented based on morphological features and distribution. Due to the invasive ability of Ptilohyale littoralis, a comparison between the two species is necessary.

Two new species of Urothoe (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Gammaridea) from the East Johor Islands Archipelago, Malaysia

Two new species of urothoid amphipods from Pulau Sibu and Pulau Tinggi, Johor are described and illustrated. The specimens of Urothoe sibuensis new species were collected by vertical haul plankton net and is distinctively different from other existing Urothoe species by these combination of special characters; similar gnathopods 1-2 with short and stout propodus expanded into poorly defined palms; large eyes and epimeron 3 smooth. Urothoe tinggiensis new species as collected using an airlift suction sampler at seagrass area is characterized by its different gnathopodal configuration with setose dactylus of 5th pereopod; eyes minute; carpus is wider than merus in the 5th pereopod; subquadrate coxa 4; merus and carpus of pereopods 6-7 are linear.