Journal articles on the topic 'Spineurs de Cauchy'

Larval development of Hyas coarctatus alutaceus Brandt, 1851, consisting of two zoeal stages followed by a megalopa, is described for the first time from larvae of known parentage. Mean duration of the first and second zoeal stages was 41 and 30 days at ambient temperature (3–12 °C) and 30 and 36 days at 9 °C, respectively. First megalopae appeared after 69 and 62 days post-hatching at ambient temperature and 9 °C, respectively. For comparison, all larval stages of Hyas araneus, Hyas coarctatus coarctatus, and Chionoecetes opilio were also cultured from local populations. Zoeae of all these species were found to be very similar. Larvae of H. c. alutaceus were significantly larger than those of H. c. coarctatus, surpassing even those of H. araneus. Laboratory-reared and wild-caught larvae from different geographic areas were also compared. Characters potentially useful in the interspecific and subspecific differentiation of zoeae are presented. These include (i) relative dimensions of the carapace, spinules on carapace spines, setae on antennal exopodites, lateral abdominal spines relative to abdominal somites, spines on the telson furca, and dorsolateral spines on abdominal somite 3; (ii) presence or absence of spinules on lateral abdominal spines and knobs on eyestalks; (iii) setation of appendages; and (iv) pigmentation. Megalopae are also compared morphometrically and meristically. Larvae vary more than appeared previously. A key for the identification of larval stages of C. opilio and Hyas spp. is provided.

A new spiny scorpionfish, Trachyscorpia verai, is described from a single specimen caught by deepwater longline off Puerto López (Ecuador, Tropical Eastern Pacific). This scorpionfish is distinguished from all other species of Trachyscorpia by a unique combination of characters: dorsal-fin spines 12, vertebrae 26, and gas bladder absent. Other diagnostic characters are: maxilla unscaled, third dorsal spine long, and pelvic spine short. This is the second species of Trachyscorpia known from the TEP and the sixth worldwide.

Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) sensu lato has been recognized as a species complex comprising four species. Of these four species, the larval stages of all except Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775), have been described. The larvae of P. segnis, hatched from an ovigerous female, caught in the Gulf of Aqaba, were cultured in the laboratory up to the megalopa stage. All the larval stages are described herein for the first time. The number of aesthetascs of the antennules of all the zoeal stages of P. segnis differs from those of the larvae of the other species of the P. pelagicus species complex. In the telson forks of zoea I–IV of P. segnis, there is a pair of ventral spines and two pairs of dorsal spines, whereas in the other P. pelagicus species complex larvae, there is a pair each of ventral and dorsal spines. Another unique feature, in the megalopa of P. segnis, are two endopod hooks in pleonites I–V. Different zoeal and megalopal stages of P. segnis can be distinguished clearly from the other P. pelagicus species complex larvae based on the number of setae and patterns of different appendages.

Cottunculus tubulosus n.sp. is described from one specimen caught in the summer of 2004 in the Northeast Atlantic, at about 2000 m depth in the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The species is characterised by a slender body, a long head, large pointed cranial spines, large bony tubules along the lateral line, prominent dermal prickles along the back, dorsal and anal fins set far posterior, a short caudal peduncle, and no banded colour patterns. From morphological characters, the species seems closely related to the South African species C. spinosus.

AbstractA total of 1432 hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha (=Hilsa ilisha) from 11 fresh water, brackish water and marine localities in Bangladesh yielded 13 adult Goezia bangladeshi n. sp., all specimens being found in the intestine of a single fish host caught in the lower Ganges. A total of 2372 Goezia juveniles were recovered from 490 infected fish (prevalence 34.2%). This is the first Goezia species recorded from Bangladesh, and it differs from other valid species by the number of caudal papillae (pre 7–9, para 3, post 6); encircled by tiny spines, the position of double papillae, the arrangement of body spines, and the length ratio of the intestinal caecum and the ventricular appendix (1: 3.33–4.72). Juveniles were free in the gut, embedded in the gut wall and encapsulated in mesenteries. Tenualosa ilisha serves as the definitive host, but the predominance of juveniles may indicate that piscivorous hosts may also serve as such. A list of the nominal Goezia species with important characters is provided.

We report an individual of the freshwater stingray Potamotrygon falkneri caught with a decomposing catfish, Pimelodella gracilis, stuck in its oral cavity. The ingestion of catfishes by stingrays is possibly rendered difficult or hazardous due to the serrated spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins of this prey type. There are at least two possible explanations for the rotting catfish we found stuck in the mouth of a potamotrygonid ray: mistake or inexperience of the analyzed specimen. Both possibilities may be due to the fact that the ray was a young individual.

This study aimed to identify the species of hairtail caught in Pengandaran waters based on morphological, meristic character and molecular approach. In total 135 fish samples were collected from Pangandaran Waters, during March-April 2017. Each sample was identified, measured on 22 morphometric and 4 meristic characters, then analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Molecular identification was conducted by sequenced of 16S rRNA gene. The result of the research showed that hairtail characterized by III spines and 125-140 soft rays of dorsal fin (D.III, 125-140), the anal fin situated below 38th to 41th of dorsal-fin soft ray, I spine and 10 soft rays of pectoral fin (P.I.10), and I spine and 91 to 112 spinules of anal fin (A.I.91-112). Based on the morphological identification, the hairtail was belonged to Trichiurus lepturus. Principal Component Analysis showing the morphometric variation was presented in the caudal peduncle length. Molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA of the partial 16S rRNA gene confirmed the hairtail as T. lepturus with similarity 98-99% based on previously published data. Phylogenetic analysis showed that T. lepturus from Pangandaran were closely similar to related species caught from the Southern Coast of Yogyakarta Special Territory (Indian Ocean) and Hainan China (Pacific Ocean).

The development and seasonal distribution of larvae of Dinolestes lewini, the sole species of the endemic Australian family Dinolestidae, are described for the first time using larvae 1.88–14.13 mm in body length caught in south-eastern Australia. Larvae have a moderately deep body, 27–29 myomeres, a moderate to large head, a large mouth with prominent, early-forming premaxillary teeth, small to moderate preopercular spines, a coiled and compact gut, and are moderately pigmented. Notochord flexion takes place between 4.8 and 7.0 mm and transformation at a size >14 mm. Larvae closely resemble those of Apogonops (Acropomatidae), Pomatomus (Pomatomidae) and Scomber (Scombridae), genera that have been postulated to be related to Dinolestes, but can be distinguished using a combination of myomere and fin-ray counts, and pigmentation. Larvae have been caught in marine waters off central New South Wales between January and November, and off western Victoria in late January, at depths between 30 and 0 m and within 8 nautical miles of the coast. The limited data on larval occurrence in New South Wales indicate that D. lewini spawns over an extended period, with a peak in autumn/winter.

The East African root rat (Tachyoryctes splendens (Rüppell, 1835)) is a solitary subterranean rodent that exhibits a marked seasonal reproduction linked to the bimodal rainfall pattern of East Africa. The current study sets out to determine whether the East African root rat is an induced or spontaneous ovulator. Five wild caught adult females were monitored noninvasively for ovarian cyclicity by measuring urinary progesterone every 2 days over a period of 120 days. Females were subjected to three different experimental treatments, namely, initially singly housed or control (C), nonphysical contact with a male (NPC), and physical contact with a vasectomised male (PC), respectively. The concentration of urinary progesterone was higher during PC than during either NPC or C. The act of coitus appears to be necessary for ovulation to occur in the females. The male East African root rats were found to possess epidermal spines on the penis that can be used to bring about cervical stimulation during coitus. The spines result in the induction of ovulation as has been proposed for other solitary subterranean rodents. The findings from the female progesterone profiles and the assessment of penile morphology suggest that the female East African root rat is an induced ovulator stimulated by penile intromission during coitus.

Anphira branchialisgen. et sp. nov. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoidae) is described from the dorsal areas of the gill chambers of three species of piranhas (Serrasalmusspp.). The fishes were caught in rivers near Manaus, Amazonas State and on Maracá island, Federal Territory of Roraima, Brasil. The new genus and species is characterized by having large, flat coxal plates on ail 7 pereonites. These plates usually extend beyond the margins of the following segments and the 7th ones extend nearly to the pleotelson and cover the lateral margins of the pleonites. The mandible of this species is rounded, "foot shaped" and without incisor. The mandibular palp is short and stout. The maxillules have 3 terminal and 2 subterminal spines. The pleopods are simple lamellar structures with rounded tips. Evidence is presented that these parasites feed on gill filaments.

AbstractGalactosomum lacteum (Jägerskiöld, 1896) Looss, 1899 metacercariae, encysted on the optic nerve, on the brain and/or on the muscle and the connective of the pharynx and oesophagus, were found in Spicara maena L., S. flexuosa Rafinesque, 1810, S. smaris L. (Centracanthidae), Gobius cruentatus Gmelin, 1789 (Gobiidae), Symphodus tinca L., S. mediterraneus L. (Labridae), Serranus cabrilla L. (Serranidae), Diplodus sargus L. and D. annularis L. (Sparidae) caught in the Gulf of Cagliari (southern Sardinia, Italy). Excysted specimens were identified by some distinctive morphological features: more or less expanded forebody, depending on whether the specimens were living or fixed; tubular excretory bladder extending to the posterior border of the ovary; two-chambered seminal vesicle; asymmetrical and parenchymatous ventral sucker with lines of spines within its cavity; and unarmed gonotyle. Comparison has been made with the congeneric species metacercaria, G. timondavidi Pearson & Prévot, 1971, also registered in the Mediterranean Sea.

Four species of copepods are described based on specimens of both sexes from tegulid top shells (Vestigastropoda) caught from coastal waters of southern Japan. Three species, including two undescribed and one known of the genus Panaietis (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Anthessiidae) were found in the pharynx and esophagus of gastropods. Panaietis incamerata Stebbing, 1900, P. doraconis n. sp., and P. satsuma n. sp. are distinguished from its congeners by the dorsal plates on the first pedigerous somite, the genital somite, the shape of the spines on legs, the number of setae on legs 1 and 2, and the position and shape of leg 5. Pseudanthessius imo n. sp. (Cyclopoida: Pseudanthessiidae) was found in the mantle cavity of the host. This copepod differs from its congeners in the proportions of the caudal ramus, the armature and proportion of the antenna, the armature of the exopod and general shape of the endopod of leg 4, and the presence of a post-rostral process.

Abstract A new species of the copepod genus Stygiopontius is described based on samples from a cold seep in northeastern South China Sea southwest to Taiwan, which were collected by the ROV Faxian with its mother vessel R/V Kexue in September 2017. The copepods were obtained by washing Shinkaia crosnieri Baba & Williams, 1998 (Decapoda: Munidopsidae) caught at a depth of 1124 m. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characteristics: caudal rami about 3.5 times as long as wide; basis of maxilliped with plumose seta, endopodal claw of maxilliped stout, with a row of fine spinules on inner margin; coxa of leg 1 with one inner seta; basis of leg 1 with stout spine exceeding to end of first endopodal segment; second endopodal segment of female leg 4 with pointed process; third exopodal segment of leg 4 with three outer spines. This is the first record of a Stygiopontius species from a cold seep.

The fish chaetodipterus faber caught at the Paranaguá bay (southern Brazil) had the gills gently removed from the right body side, rinsed with 0.9% NaCl solution, and fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.15M phosphate buffer (1:1); 1% osmium tetroxide in the same buffer was used for post fixation. After that the gill arches were rinsed and then dehydrated in a graded ethanol series, critical-point dried in liquid CO2, and coated with gold. They were viewed and photographed in a Philips scanning electron microscope.At the pharingeal region of the branchial arch, the gill raker has many hooks with sharp pointed spines (Fig. 2). Between them and at its base, many taste buds protrude. The epithelium has typical polygonal pavement cells with concentrically arranged surface ridges (Fig. 5). The respiratory lamellae are triangular in shape (Fig. 4), rising from the branchial filaments, irregular in thickness (Fig. 1). At the base some globous structures were found (g). Chloride cell apical crypts are at the surface of the epithelium.

The Porthole Shovelnose Catfish, Hemisorubim platyrhynchos, is the sixth largest pimelodidae of the Pantanal. Its age and growth were studied using pectoral fin-spines from fish collected in the Cuiabá river basin, Pantanal. The fish, which came from commercial and experimental fisheries, were all caught with hook and line. Growth-ring formation time could not be defined through the Kruskal-Wallis test on marginal increment (H = 4.142; p = 0.247). Nevertheless, decrease in the marginal increment index occurring as waters recede suggests this as the probable time when growth rings form. Estimation of the parameters of von Bertalanffy growth curve, adjusted through nonlinear regression to observed fork lengths, with L<FONT FACE=Symbol>¥</FONT> fixed at 64 cm, were: k = 0.222 year-1; t o = -2.149 years. Individual life span was estimated at 11.4 years. The results suggest that fork length is a good predictor of age for individuals of this species.

Fish are cold-blooded vertebrates, whose body movements and balance are mainly using fins, breathing through gills, and living in an aquatic environment. Most vertebrates in the world are fish covering 48.1%, mammals (10.8%), reptiles (14.4%), amphibians (6.0%), and birds (20.7%). One of the fish consumed in North Sulawesi is scad mackerel locally called malalugis. This research focused on the meristic and morphometric characteristics of blue scad. The samples were caught in Makalehi waters and then landed in Manado Bay. Meristic observations (related to the number) included the number of spines and soft dorsal fin, pectoral fin, pelvic fin, anal fin (anal), and caudal fin. There were 9 spines on the first dorsal (D1), 2 spines and 30-37 soft rays on the second dorsal (D2), 3 spines and 24-31 soft rays on the anal fin (A), and 1,327 linea lateralis (LL). The morphometric observations cover total length, standard length, fork length, head length, tail stem length, eye width, body width, pectoral fin length, and anal fin length (anal). The total length ranged from 180 mm to 303 mm with a mean of 223 mm and a standard deviation of 25 mm.Keywords: fin, linea lateralis, Makalehi waters.AbstrakIkan merupakan hewan vertebrata berdarah dingin, yang pergerakan dan keseimbangan tubuhnya terutama menggunakan sirip dan umumnya bernapas dengan insang serta hidup dalam lingkungan air. Spesies hewan vertebrata terbanyak di dunia adalah ikan dengan persentase 48,1 persen dari keseluruhan hewan vertebrata yang ada, pada mamalia memiliki presentase 10,8 persen, reptile memiliki 14,4 persen, amfibi hanya 6,0 persen dan spesies burung 20,7 persen. Salah satu ikan yang dikenal dan dikonsumsi di Sulawesi Utara adalah ikan layang biru atau disebut ikan malalugis. Penelitian ini mengenai karakteristik meristik dan morfometrik ikan layang biru. Penelitian sampel ikan layang biru yang ditangkap di Perairan Makalehi dan kemudian didaratkan di Teluk Manado. Pengamatan meristik (berkaitan dengan jumlah) meliputi jumlah jari-jari keras dan jari-jari lemah pada sirip punggung, sirip dada, sirip perut, sirip anal (dubur) dan sirip ekor. Terdapat 9 duri sirip pada dorsal pertama (D1), 2 duri dan 30-37 sirip lemah pada dorsal kedua (D2); 3 duri dan dan 24-31 sirip lemah pada anal (A), dan 13-27 linea lateralis (LL). Pengamatan morfometrik (berkaitan dengan ukuran antara lain panjang total, panjang standar, panjang garpu,panjang kepala, panjang batang ekor, lebar mata, lebar badan, panjang sirip dada, panjang sirip anal (dubur). Panjang total berkisar 180-303 mm dengan rerata 223 mm dan standar deviasi 25 mm.Kata kunci: Sirip; Linea lateralis; perairan Makalehi.

Dorsal spines (n=649) of the queen triggerfish Balistes vetula were collected between 1997 to 1999 at the central coast of Brazil and used to evaluate fish growth. The marginal increment analysis validated that 1 increment was formed annually (n=476), with minimum values observed at the summer, and coinciding with the maximum proportion of translucent growth bands. Fish's maximum fork length and age were 460 mm and 14 years respectively. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy function were: Fl∞ = 441.3 mm, K = 0.14 and T0= -1.8. Weight gain by year ranged from about 110 g yr-1 for age 5 to about 30 g yr-1 for age 14. Compared to other studies, B. vetula growth in the Central coast of Brazil was slow, which could be related to the influence of the oligotrophic water from Brazil current. Our results indicate that B. vetula's fisheries in the Central coast of Brazil until 1999 have caught mostly adult individuals over the sexual maturation lenght, 60% of them with ages from 6 to 8 yr.

Abstract The paper presents characteristic and morphological diagnostic features of females and second larval instar of six terebrantian species: Oxythrips ajugae Uzel 1895, O. bicolor (O. M. Reuter 1879), Taeniothrips inconsequens (Uzel 1895), Thrips calcaratus Uzel 1895, T. minutissimus Linnaeus 1758 and T. pini (Uzel 1895). The species are the most numerously and frequently caught in traps in the canopy layer of various Central European forests. Both adults and larvae of Oxythrips spp. may be easily recognized by features present at the end of their abdomen: the former by length of the abdominal segment X; the latter by differences in the length and position of spines. Adults of other the species mentioned above differ in the following features: number of antennal segments, number of setae in the distal part of their first pair of wings, presence or absence of additional setae on abdominal sternites and pleurites, presence or absence of a tooth on the tarsus of the first pair of legs. The main features differentiating larvae of these species (besides T. pini larva which have been hitherto undescribed) are body sclerotisation and length, and shape of the comb surrounding the IXth abdominal segment.

The purpose of the current study was to supply the first information on age and growth for Thunnus obesus caught in the equatorial south-western Atlantic using dorsal spines, an approach that has been successfully employed for ageing tuna species. The study was conducted using a multi-model inference based on information theory for back-calculated and observed length-at-age data. Uncertainty associated with the parameter estimation was verified and results were compared to other accounts on the species, considering both the statistical and methodological contexts. Samples were collected in Natal city (Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil) from February 1999 to January 2000, of tuna vessels and from surveys, aimed at providing information on the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the area around São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago. Validation using marginal increment indicated that one ring is deposited per year. Mean length-at-age ranged of 54.3 to 177.5 cm (fork length) for ages 1 to 9 years. Von Bertalanffy, Richards, and Gompertz models were considered suitable for the bigeye tuna. Hence, the model-averaged asymptotic length ¯L∞ was estimated. The averaged model generated in the present study by back-calculation was considered appropriate for describing the growth of T. obesus.

The longevity of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) remains unresolved. The use of fin spines and sagittal otoliths for age reading has led to unconfirmed longevity estimates near 20–30 years. Age validation has been elusive because large individuals are uncommonly caught, and a technique that can be applied to structures that provide estimates of age was absent. The use of otolith chemical signatures has been limited by sagittal otoliths that are very small — whole otolith mass of adult blue marlin rarely exceeds 10 mg for the largest fish. Recent advances in the detection limits of radiocarbon (14C) with accelerator mass spectrometry — coupled with recently acquired knowledge of marine bomb 14C signals spanning the tropical Pacific Ocean — have led to an opportunity to age blue marlin from small amounts of otolith material. In this study, otoliths from a recently collected 1245 lb (565 kg) female blue marlin at a measured 146-inch (371 cm) lower jaw fork length were analyzed for 14C. Estimated longevity was either 12–21 or 32–44 years on the basis of bomb 14C dating. Using multiple lines of evidence, it was determined that the young age scenario was most likely, with evidence for an age close to 20 years using a series of deductions in the bomb 14C dating method.

Diclidophoroides maccallumi is redescribed from the gills of longfin hake, Phycis chesteri, caught off the coast of Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Specific characteristics such as the number of genital corona spines and morphometric measurements are within the range limits given in previous descriptions of this species from red hake, Urophycis chuss. The detailed morphology of the clamp, the male genital terminalia, and the female reproductive system is presented. This redescription confirms the restoration of Diclidophoroides Price, 1943 (sensu Mamaëv, 1976) as a primitive genus in the subfamily Diclidophorinae. The generic diagnosis of Diclidophoroides should be emended to include the following: in the male genital terminalia, the presence of a prostatic vesicle, and in the clamp, the presence of a partially developed lamellate extension, b, originating from median sclerite a1, with distal attachment to the terminal half of peripheral sclerite c1, with no proximal border between sclerites a2 and c2, and the presence of a sucker in the inner side. Major generic characteristics that differentiate the genera Diclidophoroides and Diclidophora are briefly discussed. The occurrence of Diclidophoroides maccallumi on Phycis chesteri in the Gulf of St. Lawrence represents a northern range extension of the parasite and a new host record, and provides further evidence for the close phylogenetic affinity between Phycis chesteri and the genus Urophycis.

AbstractMantis shrimps are commercially important crustaceans in many areas of the world. In contrast to the relatively common studies of adults, limited studies have been attempted of larvae because of a lack of identification keys. The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) to link wild-caught larval specimens from the Seto Inland Sea to a certain species and (2) to present a detailed morphological description of the last larval stage. The resulting molecular phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences strongly implies that our larval specimens were linked to Levisquilla inermis, which was barcoded from a newly collected adult specimen with a morphological identification. K2P genetic divergence was found to be 0% among the larval and adult specimens. The congeneric species L. jurichi was the sister group of the L. inermis cluster, but the K2P distance between them was 3.4%, and it was considered a distinct species. Morphological observations provided five major distinguishing characteristics of the last-stage larva of L. inermis: (1) propodus of second maxilliped with three basal spines, (2) all five pleopods possessing an appendix interna with cincinnuli, (3) exopod of uropod longer than the endopod, (4) distal margin of the exopod of the uropod reaching the lateral tooth of telson, and (5) telson with nine intermediate denticles. Overall, our results reveal the importance of combining molecular and morphological analyses for solving stomatopod larval identification. This finding can be used to support and facilitate future research on the taxonomy and biodiversity of stomatopod larvae.

The mineral component of fish otoliths (ear bones), which is aragonitic calcium carbonate (CaCO3), makes this structure the preferred sample choice for measuring biological carbon and oxygen-stable isotopes in order to address fundamental questions in fish ecology and fisheries science. The main drawback is that the removal of otoliths requires sacrificing the specimen, which is particularly impractical for endangered and commercially valuable species such as Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) (ABFT). This study explores the suitability of using the first dorsal fin spine bone of ABFT as a non-lethal alternative to otolith analysis or as a complementary hard structure. The fin spines of freshly caught ABFT were collected to identify carbonate ions within the mineral matrix (i.e., hydroxyapatite) and to determine the nature of the carbonate substitution within the crystal lattice, knowledge which is crucial for correct measurement and ecological interpretation of oxygen and carbon stable isotopes of carbonates. Fin spine sections were analyzed via X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Raman Spectroscopy, and Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR). The XPS survey analysis showed signals of Ca, O, and P (three compositional elements that comprise hydroxyapatite). The Raman and FTIR techniques showed evidence of carbonate ions within the hydroxyapatite matrix, with the IR spectra being the most powerful for identifying the type B carbonate substitution as shown by the carbonate band in the v2 CO32− domain at ∼872 cm−1. The results of this study confirmed the presence of carbonate ions within the mineral matrix of the fin spine bone of ABFT, showing the feasibility of using this calcified structure for analysis of stable isotopes. Overall, our findings will facilitate new approaches to safeguarding commercially valuable and endangered/protected fish species and will open new research avenues to improve fisheries management and species conservation strategies.

The ophidiid genus Porogadus occurs between 800 and 5300 m in the tropical and subtropical world oceans. Fifteen nominal species have been described since 1878 and most of them until 1902. The genus has been highlighted as needing revision in recent compilations about ophidiiforms and here we present the first comprehensive review. Twelve of the previously described species are here accepted as valid with two being moved to the newly established genus Tenuicephalus n. gen. that encompasses fishes differing from those of Porogadus in the extremely weak ossification, the stout head, absence of head spines and absence of the “triple” lateral line system considered typical for Porogadus and a reduced dentition. In addition, eight new species are described: Porogadus caboverdensis, P. dracocephalus, P. lacrimatus, P. mendax, P. solomonensis, P. turgidus, Tenuicephalus multitrabs and T. squamilabrus. The species of Porogadus show a distinctive depth segregation with the majority of species having a demersal bathyal life-style between 800 and 3500 m and other species being more or less exclusively restricted to abyssal depths below 3000 m. The biogeographic distribution pattern of bathyal groups shows putative species pairs in the Atlantic versus the eastern Pacific and a clear separation of eastern Pacific from Indo-West Pacific species. The geographic effects and timing are being discussed that may have led to this speciation events. Generally, we found widely distributed species that are found far away from continental masses and others restrained to continental slopes and sometimes exhibiting regionalism. In abyssal depth, the Cabo Verde and Canary basins off NW-Africa have yielded three exclusive species, but it is uncertain at this stage whether this could represent a sampling bias with this area being extensively sampled by the Discovery research vessel (BMNH) over the years from 1970–1998. Another instance of a potentially endemic abyssal species is that of Porogadus melanocephalus in the Bay of Bengal. The latter has been caught with 45 specimens in a single trawl, representing the highest number of Porogadus specimens collected in any trawl and indicating that these fishes may actually not be as rare as one might assume from the literature.

The coastal area in North Sulawesi which has a length of about 1.985 km, is a potential area with biodiversity supported by the associated biota in it. Order Decapoda, infraorder Brachyura is one of the many biotas found in coastal areas. It is estimated that about 5,400 species of Brachyura live in coastal areas. The purpose of the study was to identify the crabs caught at Minanga Beach, Manado Bay Waters, Malalayang Satu Village Malalayang District Manado City based on the morphological characteristics of crabs. The sample was collected in February 2022. The method used in this research is the cruising survey method, which has been done by tracing the marked location and then taking all the crabs species found. Identification is done by observing the morphology of the crab, such as carapace shape, claws, walking legs, presence of spines on the carapace, carapace size, abdomen shape, sexual dimorphism that occurs in crabs, presence of hair/setae, and color/pattern of crabs. Based on the research conducted, as many as five species of crabs were found in Minanga Beach, namely: Thalamita prymna, Thalamita sp., Thalamita admete, Ozius rugulosus, Ozius tuberculosus.Keywords: Brachyura; Identification; Thalamita; Ozius; Manado Bay.AbstrakWilayah pesisir di Sulawesi Utara yang memiliki panjang sekitar 1.985 km, merupakan wilayah yang potensial dengan keanekaragaman hayati yang didukung oleh biota yang berasosiasi di dalamnya. Ordo Decapoda, infraordo Brachyura merupakan satu dari banyak biota yang ditemukan di wilayah pesisir. Diperkirakan sekitar 5.400 spesies brachyura hidup di wilayah pesisir pantai. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengidentifikasi kepiting yang ditangkap di Pantai Minanga, Perairan Teluk Manado, Kelurahan Malalayang Satu, Kecamatan Malalayang, Kota Manado berdasarkan ciri morfologi kepiting. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan pada bulan Februari 2022. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian adalah metode survei jelajah, yaitu dengan menyusuri lokasi yang telah ditandai lalu mengambil semua spesies kepiting yang ditemukan. Identifikasi dilakukan dengan memperhatikan morfologi kepiting, seperti: bentuk karapas, capit, kaki jalan, keberadaan duri pada karapas, ukuran karapas, bentuk abdomen, seksual dimorfisme yang terjadi pada kepiting, keberadaan rambut/setae, dan warna/corak kepiting. Berdasarkan penelitian yang dilakukan, sebanyak lima spesies kepiting ditemukan di Pantai Minanga, yaitu: Thalamita prymna, Thalamita sp., Thalamita admete, Ozius rugulosus, Ozius tuberculosus.Kata Kunci: Brachyura; Identifikasi; Thalamita; Ozius; Teluk Manado.

Symptoms of sugarcane orange rust were first observed in July 2010 on sugarcane (interspecific hybrid of Saccharum L. species) cv. CC 01-1884 planted in the La Cabaña Sugar Mill, Puerto Tejada, Colombia. Morphological features of uredinial lesions and urediniospores inspected with an optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy were distinct from common rust of sugarcane caused by Puccinia melanocephala Syd. & P. Syd., revealing spores identical morphologically to those described for the fungus P. kuehnii (Kruger) E. Butler, causal agent of sugarcane orange rust (1,3). Uredinial lesions were orange and distinctly lighter in color than pustules of P. melanocephala. Urediniospores were orange to light cinnamon brown, mostly ovoid to pyriform, variable in size (27.3 to 39.2 × 16.7 to 21.2 μm), with pronounced apical wall and moderately echinulate with spines evenly distributed. Paraphyses, telia, and teliospores were not observed. Species-specific PCR primers designed from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)1, ITS2, and 5.8S rDNA regions of P. melanocephala and P. kuehnii were used to differentiate the two species (2). The primers Pm1-F and Pm1-R amplified a 480-bp product from P. melanocepahala DNA in leaf samples with symptoms of common rust. By contrast, the primers Pk1-F and Pk1-R generated a 527-bp product from presumed P. kuehnii DNA in leaf samples with signs of orange rust, confirming the identity as P. kuehnii. The Centro de Investigación de la Caña de Azúcar de Colombia (Cenicaña) started a survey of different cultivars in nurseries and experimental and commercial fields in the Cauca River Valley and collected leaf samples for additional analyses. Experimental cvs. CC 01-1884, CC 01-1866, and CC 01-1305 were found to be highly susceptible to orange rust and were eliminated from regional trials, whereas commercial cvs. CC 85-92 and CC 84-75, the most widely grown cultivars, were resistant. With the discovery of orange rust of sugarcane in Colombia, Cenicaña has incorporated orange rust resistance in the selection and development of new cultivars. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. kuehnii on sugarcane in Colombia. Orange rust has also been reported from the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Brazil. References: (1) J. C. Comstock et al. Plant Dis. 92:175, 2008. (2) N. C. Glynn et al. Plant Pathol. 59:703, 2010. (3) E. V. Virtudazo et al. Mycoscience 42:167, 2001.

Caligus praecinctorius sp. nov. is described on the basis of females taken from the gills of Gymnocranius grandoculisValenciennes, 1830, G. euanus (Günther, 1879) and Epinephelus fasciatus (Forsskål, 1775), all caught in New Caledonia.The new species is characterised by having the posteromedian lobe of the cephalothorax completely covering the fourthpedigerous somite in dorsal view, and by the genital complex being 2.7 times wider than long. A second new species, C.macoloricola sp. nov., is described based on material from the gills of Macolor niger (Forsskål, 1775). It is distinguishedby the combination of a 3-segmented leg 4 with 4 spines on the distal segment, a vestigial post-antennal process, and theconfiguration of the setal elements on the exopod of leg 1. The status of a number of other Caligus species is reviewed. Itis proposed to treat C. angustatus Krøyer, 1863 as a junior subjective synonym of C. gurnardi Krøyer, 1863, C. dactylusHo, Lin & Chang, 2007 as a junior subjective synonym of C. dactylopteni Uma Devi & Shyamasundari, 1981, and C.kirtioides Ho & Lin, 2004 as a junior subjective synonym of C. jawahari Hameed & Adamkutty, 1985. Caligus bifurcatusPearse, 1952 is recognised as a junior subjective synonym of Tuxophorus caligodes Wilson, 1908. Caligus cristatusGould, 1841 is here treated as a species inquirendum in the pandarid genus Dinemoura Latreille, 1829. Caligus elevatusKirtisinghe, 1964 is discovered to be an incorrect subsequent spelling of C. clavatus Kirtisinghe, 1964. Caligus gayiNicolet, 1849 is here treated as a species inquirendum. It is proposed to treat C. oligoplitisi Carvalho, 1956, C. validusPearse, 1952 and C. mercatoris Capart, 1941 as junior subjective synonyms of C. robustus Bassett-Smith, 1898 and a listof known hosts of this species is presented. Caligus pterois Kurian, 1949 has priority over Caligus russellii Kurien, 1950,which is here treated as a junior objective synonym, since the two descriptions were based on the same material. We rejectCressey’s (1991) proposal to treat C. tenax Heller, 1865 as a synonym of C. chorinemi Krøyer, 1863 and we retain C. tenaxas a valid species. We propose to treat C. spinosurculus Pearse, 1951 as a junior subjective synonym of C. tenax. Wepropose to treat C. multispinosus Shen, 1957 as a junior subjective synonym of C. stromatei Krøyer, 1863. We note thatCaligus trichiuri Krøyer, 1863 is the oldest available name for the taxon Metacaligus uruguayensis Thomsen, 1949. SoCaligus (Metacaligus) uruguayensis Thomsen, 1949 becomes a junior subjective synonym and the valid name for this taxon is Metacaligus trichiuri (Krøyer, 1863).

The skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) is a migratory pelagic fish occurring in all tropical and subtropical oceans of the world. Due to its economic importance and the unbridled increase in fishing efforts, stocks may collapse if this resource is not managed properly. The present study aimed to estimate growth parameters from different growth models based on annual rings from the dorsal spines of skipjack tuna caught in the western equatorial Atlantic. The first dorsal spine of each individual was extracted to produce cross-sections with 0.6 to 0.8 mm in thickness. We used a multi-model approach to select the best growth model based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC). Two hundred seventy individuals were analyzed, with an average length of 49.58 ± 7.72 cm. The von Bertalanffy growth model had the best fit to the data, but the Gompertz and Logistic models also had essential support. Average asymptotic length ( ) was estimated to be 114.05 and 102.63 cm for observed and back-calculated data, respectively. The dorsal spines are indeed efficient tools for estimating growth parameters and multi-model inference is a novel approach for adjusting discrepancies that likely result from a single-model approach.

AbstractCaligus serratus Shiino, 1965 (Copepoda: Caligidae), a parasite on 11 fish species caught in Chamela Bay off the Pacific Coast of Mexico, is redescribed based on material found on Pacific agujon needlefish Tylosurus pacificus (Steindachner, 1876). Caligus serratus can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: i) short abdomen (approximately 0.2 times as long as cephalothorax), ii) pointed posteromedial process on the first segment of the antenna, iii) sternal furca with bluntly pointed, diverging tines, and iv) leg 4 exopod bearing 3 unequal, distal spines (the shortest 0.2 times the length of the longest). Microphotographs of female and illustrations of both female and male are provided. The redescription of this species might be useful given its low host specificity.

BackgroundMicromilled fish otoliths (ear bones) have been widely used for stable oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analysis. The first dorsal fin spine is routinely used for ageing in the eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) population; however, stable isotope analysis remains unapplied in this hard structure. The objective of the present protocol is to achieve a sequential sampling of growth layers in the ABFT fin spine at high spatial resolution and along growth trajectory for stable isotope analysis.MethodsWe used a micromilling and micro-powder collecting technique for sequentially sampling annual growth layers of the fin spine bone collected from freshly caught ABFT. We assessed the carbonate content and the optimal drilling amount to ensure enough powder quantity was recovered from each annual growth band to accommodate accurate measurement of the δ18O and δ13C values.ResultsThe optimal drilling path included 20 drilling lines in 49 μm, with 400 μm depth and 900 μm-line width, which represents a time resolution of about 2.5 months. The minimum powder quantity required from each annual growth layer for δ18O and δ13C isotope analysis was approximately 180 μg because the carbonate contents in the fin spine powder was 5–6%. The δ18O profile assayed in the last growth intervals coincide with the surface δ18Oseawater for the southern west waters off the Norwegian coast, where the tuna was caught. The fluctuating pattern in the second growth interval may reflect certain fidelity to the Norwegian SE and Swedish SW coast and/or otherwise to the US west coast. The δ13Cspine displayed a larger temporal variability along the growth transect that may be explained by several factors including differences in habitat use, behavior, and even trophic level.ConclusionBased on the result obtained, we present an optimal standard protocol for the sampling of sequential, annually formed growth layers in the fin spine bone for stable isotope analysis using the micro-milling as a high precision technique. This protocol is particularly useful in endangered and/or protected species for which fin spines represent a non-lethal alternative to otoliths opening new research avenues to improve their management and conservation.

Aim: The present study aims to determine the condition factor incomplete of Tilapia guineensis and Sarotherodon melanotheron in Sombreiro River across Buguma, Abonnema and Degema communities in Rivers State. Study Design: This study employs fieldwork, laboratory experimental design, statistical analysis and interpretation of data. Place and Duration of Study: Live fish samples were caught by fishermen in Buguma, Abonnema and Degema communities in Kalabari kingdom of Rivers State, and were conveyed in a rectangular plastic aquarium containing ice blocks and oxygen bags to the department of Applied and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University. The duration of the study lasted for twelve weeks (65 days). Methodology: One hundred and eighty fish samples give their average weights and lengths were identified. The fish samples were weighed using an electronic weighing balance, the total length and length of intestine were measured with a meter rule (cm), color of fish, spines and rays of fish were also observed. Their stomach contents were analyzed viewing under a microscope. The frequency of occurrence method and the numerical method were used for analyzing the food items. Results: The stomach content analysis indicated that the major food was phytoplankton. The length and weight relationship in the three sampled stations for T. guineensis and Sarotherodon melanotheron showed negative allometric growth, (<3). The condition factor for all the fish samples was greater than one. The physicochemical parameters showed that there were significant differences in the various physicochemical parameters across the study stations except for turbidity (P=0.744) and salinity (P=0.922), that showed no significant difference across the study stations. Conclusion: The length-weight relationship in fishes can be affected by a number of factors including season, habitat, gonad maturity, sex, diet, stomach fullness, health and differences in length ranges of the specimen caught. The exact relationship between length and weight differs among species of fish according to their inherited body shape, and within a species according to the condition (robustness) of individual fish. The stomach content analysis of the sampled fishes provided a baseline study of food and feeding habits of Tilapia species in the sampled stations.

In 1999, the TV movie Shark Attack depicted an attack by mutant great white sharks on the population of Cape Town. By the time the third entry in the series, Shark Attack 3, aired in 2002, mutant great whites had lost their lustre and were replaced as antagonists with the megalodon: a giant shark originating not in any laboratory, but history, having lived from approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago. The megalodon was resurrected again in May 2021 through a trifecta of events. A video of a basking shark encounter in the Atlantic went viral on the social media platform TikTok, due to users misidentifying it as a megalodon caught on tape. At the same time a boy received publicity for finding a megalodon tooth on a beach in South Carolina on his fifth birthday (Scott). And finally, the video game Stranded Deep, in which a megalodon is featured as a major enemy, was released as one of the monthly free games on the PlayStation Plus gaming service. These examples form part of a larger trend of alleged megalodon sightings in recent years, emerging as a component of the modern resurgence of cryptozoology. In the words of Bernard Heuvelmans, the Belgian zoologist who both popularised the term and was a leading figure of the field, cryptozoology is the “science of hidden animals”, which he further explained were more generally referred to as ‘unknowns’, even though they are typically known to local populations—at least sufficiently so that we often indirectly know of their existence, and certain aspects of their appearance and behaviour. It would be better to call them animals ‘undescribed by science,’ at least according to prescribed zoological rules. (1-2) In other words, a large aspect of cryptozoology as a field is taking the legendary creatures of non-Western mythology and finding materialist explanations for them compatible with Western biology. In many ways, this is a relic of the era of European imperialism, when many creatures of Africa and the Americas were “hidden animals” to European eyes (Dendle 200-01; Flores 557; Guimont). A major example of this is Bigfoot beliefs, a large subset of which took Native American legends about hairy wild men and attempted to prove that they were actually sightings of relict Gigantopithecus. These “hidden animals”—Bigfoot, Nessie, the chupacabra, the glawackus—are referred to as ‘cryptids’ by cryptozoologists (Regal 22, 81-104). Almost unique in cryptozoology, the megalodon is a cryptid based entirely on Western scientific development, and even the notion that it survives comes from standard scientific analysis (albeit analysis which was later superseded). Much like living mammoths and Bigfoot, what might be called the ‘megalodon as cryptid hypothesis’ serves to reinforce a fairy tale of its own. It reflects the desire to believe that there are still areas of the Earth untouched enough by human destruction to sustain massive animal life (Dendle 199-200). Indeed, megalodon’s continued existence would help absolve humanity for the oceanic aspect of the Sixth Extinction, by its role as an alternative apex predator; cryptozoologist Michael Goss even proposed that whales and giant squids are rare not from human causes, but precisely because megalodons are feeding on them (40). Horror scholar Michael Fuchs has pointed out that shark media, particularly the 1975 film Jaws and its 2006 video game adaptation Jaws Unleashed, are imbued with eco-politics (Fuchs 172-83). These connections, as well as the modern megalodon’s surge in popularity, make it notable that none of Syfy’s climate change-focused Sharknado films featured a megalodon. Despite the lack of a Megalodonado, the popular appeal of the megalodon serves as an important case study. Given its scientific origin and dynamic relationship with popular culture, I argue that the ‘megalodon as cryptid hypothesis’ illustrates how the boundaries between ‘hard’ science and mythology, fiction and reality, as well as ‘monster’ and ‘animal’, are not as firm as advocates of the Western science tradition might believe. As this essay highlights, science can be a mythology of its own, and monsters can serve as its gods of the gaps—or, in the case of megalodon, the god of the depths. Megalodon Fossils: A Short History Ancient peoples of various cultures likely viewed fossilised teeth of megalodons in the area of modern-day Syria (Mayor, First Fossil Hunters 257). Over the past 2500 years, Native American cultures in North America used megalodon teeth both as curios and cutting tools, due to their large size and serrated edges. A substantial trade in megalodon teeth fossils existed between the cultures inhabiting the areas of the Chesapeake Bay and Ohio River Valley (Lowery et al. 93-108). A 1961 study found megalodon teeth present as offerings in pre-Columbian temples across Central America, including in the Mayan city of Palenque in Mexico and Sitio Conte in Panama (de Borhegyi 273-96). But these cases led to no mythologies incorporating megalodons, in contrast to examples such as the Unktehi, a Sioux water monster of myth likely inspired by a combination of mammoth and mosasaur fossils (Mayor, First Americans 221-38). In early modern Europe, megalodon teeth were initially referred to as ‘tongue stones’, due to their similarity in size and shape to human tongues—just one of many ways modern cryptozoology comes from European religious and mystical thought (Dendle 190-216). In 1605, English scholar Richard Verstegan published his book A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities, which included an engraving of a tongue stone, making megalodon teeth potentially the subject of the first known illustration of any fossil (Davidson 333). In Malta, from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, megalodon teeth, known as ‘St. Paul’s tongue’, were used as charms to ward off the evil eye, dipped into drinks suspected of being poisoned, and even ground into powder and consumed as medicine (Zammit-Maempel, “Evil Eye” plate III; Zammit-Maempel, “Handbills” 220; Freller 31-32). While megalodon teeth were valued in and of themselves, they were not incorporated into myths, or led to a belief in megalodons still being extant. Indeed, save for their size, megalodon teeth were hard to distinguish from those of living sharks, like great whites. Instead, both the identification of megalodons as a species, and the idea that they might still be alive, were notions which originated from extrapolations of the results of nineteenth and twentieth century European scientific studies. In particular, the major culprit was the famous British 1872-76 HMS Challenger expedition, which led to the establishment of oceanography as a branch of science. In 1873, Challenger recovered fossilised megalodon teeth from the South Pacific, the first recovered in the open ocean (Shuker 48; Goss 35; Roesch). In 1959, the zoologist Wladimir Tschernezky of Queen Mary College analysed the teeth recovered by the Challenger and argued (erroneously, as later seen) that the accumulation of manganese dioxide on its surface indicated that one had to have been deposited within the last 11,000 years, while another was given an age of 24,000 years (1331-32). However, these views have more recently been debunked, with megalodon extinction occurring over two million years ago at the absolute latest (Pimiento and Clements 1-5; Coleman and Huyghe 138; Roesch). Tschernezky’s 1959 claim that megalodons still existed as of 9000 BCE was followed by the 1963 book Sharks and Rays of Australian Seas, a posthumous publication by ichthyologist David George Stead. Stead recounted a story told to him in 1918 by fishermen in Port Stephens, New South Wales, of an encounter with a fully white shark in the 115-300 foot range, which Stead argued was a living megalodon. That this account came from Stead was notable as he held a PhD in biology, had founded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia, and had debunked an earlier supposed sea monster sighting in Sydney Harbor in 1907 (45-46). The Stead account formed the backbone of cryptozoological claims for the continued existence of the megalodon, and after the book’s publication, multiple reports of giant shark sightings in the Pacific from the 1920s and 1930s were retroactively associated with relict megalodons (Shuker 43, 49; Coleman and Huyghe 139-40; Goss 40-41; Roesch). A Monster of Science and Culture As I have outlined above, the ‘megalodon as cryptid hypothesis’ had as its origin story not in Native American or African myth, but Western science: the Challenger Expedition, a London zoologist, and an Australian ichthyologist. Nor was the idea of a living megalodon necessarily outlandish; in the decades after the Challenger Expedition, a number of supposedly extinct fish species had been discovered to be anything but. In the late 1800s, the goblin shark and frilled shark, both considered ‘living fossils’, had been found in the Pacific (Goss 34-35). In 1938, the coelacanth, also believed by Western naturalists to have been extinct for millions of years, was rediscovered (at least by Europeans) in South Africa, samples having occasionally been caught by local fishermen for centuries. The coelacanth in particular helped give scientific legitimacy to the idea, prevalent for decades by that point, that living dinosaurs—associated with a legendary creature called the mokele-mbembe—might still exist in the heart of Central Africa (Guimont). In 1976, a US Navy ship off Hawaii recovered a megamouth shark, a deep-water species completely unknown prior. All of these oceanic discoveries gave credence to the idea that the megalodon might also still survive (Coleman and Clark 66-68, 156-57; Shuker 41; Goss 35; Roesch). Indeed, Goss has noted that prior to 1938, respectable ichthyologists were more likely to believe in the continued existence of the megalodon than the coelacanth (39-40). Of course, the major reason why speculation over megalodon survival had such public resonance was completely unscientific: the already-entrenched fascination with the fact that it had been a locomotive-sized killer. This had most clearly been driven home by a 1909 display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. There, Bashford Dean, an ichthyologist at the museum, reconstructed an immense megalodon jaw, complete with actual fossil teeth. However, due to the fact that Dean assumed that all megalodon teeth were approximately the same size as the largest examples medially in the jaws, Dean’s jaw was at least one third larger than the likely upper limit of megalodon size. Nevertheless, the public perception of the megalodon remained at the 80-foot length that Dean extrapolated, rather than the more realistic 55-foot length that was the likely approximate upper size (Randall 170; Shuker 47; Goss 36-39). In particular, this inaccurate size estimate became entrenched in public thought due to a famous photograph of Dean and other museum officials posing inside his reconstructed jaw—a photograph which appeared in perhaps the most famous piece of shark fiction of all time, Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws. As it would turn out, the megalodon connection was itself a relic from the movie’s evolutionary ancestor, Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws, from the year before. In the novel, the Woods Hole ichthyologist Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss in the film) proposes that megalodons not only still exist, but they are the same species as great white sharks, with the smaller size of traditional great whites being due to the fact that they are simply on the small end of the megalodon size range (257-59). Benchley was reflecting on what was then the contemporary idea that megalodons likely resembled scaled-up great white sharks; something which is no longer as accepted. This was particularly notable as a number of claimed sightings stated that the alleged megalodons were larger great whites (Shuker 48-49), perhaps circuitously due to the Jaws influence. However, Goss was apparently unaware of Benchley’s linkage when he noted in 1987 (incidentally the year of the fourth and final Jaws movie) that to a megalodon, “the great white shark of Jaws would have been a stripling and perhaps a between-meals snack” (36). The publication of the Jaws novel led to an increased interest in the megalodon amongst cryptozoologists (Coleman and Clark 154; Mullis, “Cryptofiction” 246). But even so, it attracted rather less attention than other cryptids. From 1982-98, Heuvelmans served as president of the International Society of Cryptozoology, whose official journal was simply titled Cryptozoology. The notion of megalodon survival was addressed only once in its pages, and that as a brief mention in a letter to the editor (Raynal 112). This was in stark contrast to the oft-discussed potential for dinosaurs, mammoths, and Neanderthals to remain alive in the present day. In 1991, prominent British cryptozoologist Karl Shuker published an article endorsing the idea of extant megalodons (46-49). But this was followed by a 1998 article by Ben S. Roesch in The Cryptozoology Review severely criticising the methodology of Shuker and others who believed in the megalodon’s existence (Roesch). Writing in 1999, Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark, arguably the most prominent post-Heuvelmans cryptozoologists, were agnostic on the megalodon’s survival (155). The British palaeozoologist Darren Naish, a critic of cryptozoology, has pointed out that even if Shuker and others are correct and the megalodon continues to live in deep sea crevasses, it would be distinct enough from the historical surface-dwelling megalodon to be a separate species, to which he gave the hypothetical classification Carcharocles modernicus (Naish). And even the public fascination with the megalodon has its limits: at a 24 June 2004 auction in New York City, a set of megalodon jaws went on sale for $400,000, but were left unpurchased (Couzin 174). New Mythologies The ‘megalodon as cryptid hypothesis’ is effectively a fairy tale born of the blending of science, mythology, and most importantly, fiction. Beyond Jaws or Shark Attack 3—and potentially having inspired the latter (Weinberg)—perhaps the key patient zero of megalodon fiction is Steve Alten’s 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, which went through a tortuous development adaptation process to become the 2018 film The Meg (Mullis, “Journey” 291-95). In the novel, the USS Nautilus, the US Navy’s first nuclear submarine and now a museum ship in Connecticut, is relaunched in order to hunt down the megalodon, only to be chomped in half by the shark. This is a clear allusion to Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1870), where his Nautilus (namesake of the real submarine) is less successfully attacked by a giant cuttlefish (Alten, Meg 198; Verne 309-17). Meanwhile, in Alten’s 1999 sequel The Trench, an industrialist’s attempts to study the megalodon are revealed as an excuse to mine helium-3 from the seafloor to build fusion reactors, a plot financed by none other than a pre-9/11 Osama bin Laden in order to allow the Saudis to take over the global economy, in the process linking the megalodon with a monster of an entirely different type (Alten, Trench 261-62). In most adaptations of Verne’s novel, the cuttlefish that attacks the Nautilus is replaced by a giant squid, traditionally seen as the basis for the kraken of Norse myth (Thone 191). The kraken/giant squid dichotomy is present in the video game Stranded Deep. In it, the player’s unnamed avatar is a businessman whose plane crashes into a tropical sea, and must survive by scavenging resources, crafting shelters, and fighting predators across various islands. Which sea in particular does the player crash into? It is hard to say, as the only indication of specific location comes from the three ‘boss’ creatures the player must fight. One of them is Abaia, a creature from Melanesian mythology; another is Lusca, a creature from Caribbean mythology; the third is a megalodon. Lusca and Abaia, despite being creatures of mythology, are depicted as a giant squid and a giant moray eel, respectively. But the megalodon is portrayed as itself. Stranded Deep serves as a perfect distillation of the megalodon mythos: the shark is its own mythological basis, and its own cryptid equivalent. References Alten, Steven. Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Alten, Steven. The Trench. New York: Pinnacle Books, 1999. Atherton, Darren. 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