Publications

Three new mitromorphid species, two of the genus Anarithma (Anarithma pseudoiozona sp. nov. and Anarithma tsuzukii sp. nov.) one of the genus Mitromorpha (Mitromorpha laboutei sp. nov.), are described from the Indo-Pacific. In absence of DNA sequences, differentiation with their closest congeners is based on their conchological characters only.

A new polychaete, Melinnopsis nathanieli, is described from 4,850 m depth in the northeast Atlantic. Morphological and genetic analyses confirm it as distinct, making it the first Melinnopsis species described from the region and revealing its tubes as habitat for other organisms.

Five species of the shell-morphologically defined genus Granuliterebra Oyama, 1961, together with the shell-morphologically allied taxon Duplicaria tricincta (E. A. Smith, 1877), are revised and the species are compared to a new species from Australia described herein.

An integrative study of deep-sea Typhlotanaidae revealed extensive morphological convergence and hidden genetic diversity. Three new genera and four species are described from Pacific localities, highlighting complex evolutionary relationships and possible trans-Pacific connections among geographically distant deep-sea populations.

A new species of Hastula is described from South Korea, with general shell-morphological features fitting the Hastula strigilata-complex, and is mainly compared with congeners from southern Japan and Indonesia

A coordinated survey of five methane seeps in Japan’s Nankai Trough documented 80 macro- and megafaunal species, over five times previous records. The findings reveal exceptional, depth-segregated biodiversity and provide crucial baselines for conservation amid growing methane hydrate exploitation.

The first deep-sea corals documented around Okinawa’s Minamidaito and Kitadaito Islands include Callogorgia cf. korema, Pleurocorallium inutile and Acanthopathes undulata. The findings extend known species distributions and highlight the need to protect these deep-sea habitats from anthropogenic impacts.

This short report provides the first observations of deep-sea corals belonging to the class Octocorallia and order Antipatharia surveyed during the KM24-03 Leg 2 cruise in the waters around Minamidaito and Kitadaito Islands in Okinawa, Japan between approximately 200 and 1,000 m.

A study of Bornean corallanid isopods identified four Argathona species, including three new species. The findings expand known diversity, reveal novel associations with four elasmobranch hosts, and transfer Alcirona grandis to Argathona, highlighting poorly documented isopod biodiversity in the Coral Triangle.