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Book Reference Field guide to the brittle and basket stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) of South Africa
Brittle and basket stars (ophiuroids) are one of five extant classes of the phylum Echinodermata and have a fossil record dating back almost 500 million years to the Early Ordovician. Today, they remain diverse and widespread, with over 260 described genera and 2,077 extant species globally (Stöhr et al. 2018), more than any other class of echinoderm. Ophiuroid species are found across all marine habitats from the intertidal shore to the abyss. In southern Africa, the ophiuroid fauna has been studied extensively by a number of authors and is relatively wellknown. The last published review of the southern African Ophiuroidea however was by Clark & Courtman-Stock in 1976. It included 101 species reported from within the boundaries of South Africa. In the 40 years since that publication the number of species has risen to 136. This identification guide includes a taxonomic key to all 136 species, and gives key references, istribution maps, diagnoses, scaled photographs (where possible), and a synthesis of known ecological and depth information for each. The guide is designed to be comprehensive, well illustrated and easy to use for both naturalists and professional biologists. Taxonomic terms, morphological characteristics and technical expressions are defined and described in detail, with illustrations to clarify some aspects of the terminology. A checklist of all species in the region is also included, and indicates which species are endemic (33), for which we report significant range extensions (23), which have been recorded as new to the South African fauna (28) since the previous monograph of Clark & Courtman-Stock (1976) and which have undergone taxonomic revisions since that time (28).
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference The sea cucumber Holothuria lineata Ludwig, 1875 (Holothuroidea, Aspidochirotida, Holothuriidae) re-described from the newly found type
A re-description of the little-known holothurian species Holothuria (Lessonothuria) lineata Ludwig, 1875 is given. It is based on the single recovered type specimen and an individual recently collected on Glorioso Islands, near Madagascar. A key to separate three closely related and commonly confused species, i.e., Holothuria (Lessonothuria) pardalis Selenka, 1867, Holothuria (Lessenothuria) verrucosa Selenka, 1867 and Holothuria (Lessonothuria) insignis Ludwig, 1875, is presented.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2019
Article Reference Conservation of aspidochirotid holothurians in the littoral waters of Kenya
Aspidochirotid sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) are heavily fished in the littoral waters of Kenya, and stocks have plummeted. In order to conserve and manage these natural resources, appropriate conservation and management plans must to be developed. This can only occur if high quality research on different levels is done. This paper discusses five layers of understanding that should be achieved before holothurian conservation in East Africa can be effective
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Description of a new Chersodromia Walker (Diptera: Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae) from salt marshland at the Reserva natural de s’Albufereta, Mallorca, Spain)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Article Reference The Hybotidae of the Our Planet Reviewed Corsica 2019-2021 survey, with the description of three new species of Platypalpus and Tachydromia (Diptera, Empidoidea)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Article Reference L’épopée du « Travailleur » et du « Talisman » de 1880 à 1883
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Salvation and documentation: additional (probable) type material of South American land-snail species (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Estimates of life-history and growth parameters of exploited fish species in lakes Edward and George: Implications on exploitation status, population dynamics, management, and conservation of native species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference A Scanning Electron Microscopy method to visualise the copulatory organ morphology of microturbellarian flatworms: Trigonostomum Schmidt, 1852 as a case study
Traditional methods for studying the morphology of microturbellarian flatworms rely on light microscopy, which often lacks the resolution necessary to capture fine structural details. Therefore, we present a protocol to improve the visualisation of structural morphological details in microturbellarians by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We demonstrate this method by imaging the sclerotised copulatory organs of three species of Trigonostomum (Rhabdocoela, Trigonostomidae): T. venenosum, T. setigerum, and T. penicillatum. Additionally, we successfully visualise the bursal appendage of T. penicillatum. SEM imaging offered new morphological insights for the genus, and corrected earlier interpretations made with light microscopy. The method requires precision and careful handling, especially during the isolation of the hard parts. However, it is cost-effective and straightforward to carry out in any standard laboratory setting. Hence, our SEM protocol complements traditional light microscopy and opens new avenues for taxonomical research in microturbellarian taxa with hard parts.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025
Article Reference Scanning Electron Microscopy Reveals New Ultrastructural Features in Metacercariae of Clinostomum cutaneum (Digenea: Clinostomidae) Infecting Oreochromis niloticus (Actinopterygii: Cichlidae) in Kenya
Clinostomum is a genus of parasitic trematodes found worldwide, infecting a wide range of hosts, including freshwater fishes, snails, birds and occasionally humans. In this study, clinostomid metacercariae were collected from Nile tilapia raised in fish farms in the Upper Tana River region, Kenya. The prevalence of infection was 17.2%, with metacercariae infecting the skin, gills and buccal cavity of the fish. Using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and molecular methods targeting both nuclear ribosomal (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) and mitochondrial (COI) regions, the metacercariae were identified as C. cutaneum, C. phalacrocoracis, C. tilapiae and Euclinostomum heterostomum. The three species of Clinostomum have previously been reported to infect fish or piscivorous birds in Kenya, while this is the first report of E. heterostomum in this country. SEM analysis revealed new ultrastructural features of C. cutaneum, including an excretory pore surrounded by minute spiny papillae, an everted cirrus and dome-shaped papillae on the tegumental area around the genital pore. The cirrus lacked basal papillae, showing morphological variation between the adult and metacercarial stages. Our study, therefore, provides new insights into the phenotypic identification of flukes that may be pathogenic to fishes and humans and, therefore, of scientific and practical importance.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2025