• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.157-161
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• 2022

Parartotrogus minutus n. sp. is described as a parasite of the brittle star Ophiuroglypha kinbergi (Ljungman) from the intertidal zone on the Yellow Sea coast of Korea. The new species is characterized by a combination of morphological features that the body is small, less than 0.5 mm long, the caudal ramus is 1.73 times longer than wide, leg 3 bears three-segmented rami, and the exopod of leg 5 is armed with two setae. The new species is the third known species in the genus, following P. richardi Scott T. and Scott, A., 1893 known from European waters and P. arcticus Scott T., 1901 known from both North Atlantic and North Pacific.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2022

Araeosoma owstoni Mortensen, 1904, a newly recorded sea urchin, was collected from the Korea Strait by trawling during a research expedition in April 2017. The specimen was damaged and was severely peeled off on the aboral side during trawling. However, a test and the surface of the oral side of the sample were well preserved, allowing us to successfully identify it. The species was distinguished by the large and flexible test, the tiny apical section, and the interambulacra width which is twice of the ambulacra. Pedicellaria tridentate and triphyllous were presents, but tetradactyle pedicellaria was absent due to severe peeling on the aboral side. Moreover, a length of 1,212 bp sequence from mitochondrial COI gene was obtained and this sequence covered the general DNA barcoding region. The mean of interspecific divergence within A. owstoni from Korea and other eight species of Araeosoma from the GenBank was 6.8%. This value indicated that our species was clearly distinguishable from the others. Thus, the first Araeosoma species occurring in South Korea is presented in this study.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2023

Lovenia elongata is a member of the family Loveniidae and is one of the most common tropical echinoids. This species has a broad distribution range in the sub- and tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, extending from the Mozambique to the Hawaiian Islands, and from southern Japan to northern Australia. It is commonly found in subtidal areas and on coral reefs within these regions. This species was for the first time recorded from the Ulleungdo Island, Korea. This species is characterized by a teardrop-shaped test that reaches up to 5 cm in length, with a deep groove at the front and tapered at the back end. The petaloid is not obvious, and the primary spines are long and banded. This study is the first to report the newly recorded L. elongata in Korea.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.127-132
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• 2023

Aquilonastra doranae, a newly recorded sea star, was collected from the southern coast of Jejudo Island by a trimix SCUBA diving survey in May 2021. The newly collected specimen is distinguished from a previously known Aquilonastra species in South Korea by having a fissiparous body form with six arms. Results of pairwise genetic distance analysis showed that the new specimen was identical or close to A. anomala from Hawaii (0.0%), Australia (3.1%), and Samoa (3.3%). However, morphological characteristics of the Korean Aquilonastra specimen corresponded with the original description of A. doranae, not that of A. anomala, including the number of inferomarginal spines, the absence of pedicellariae, and the inhabit locality. Thus, this study agrees with the original morphological study of A. doranae and presents this specimen as the first record of A. doranae in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2023

This study introduces a newly discovered brittle star, Amphiophiura megapoma, from the mesophotic zone in the East Sea, Korea. It is the second species belonging to the genus Amphiophiura (which includes 57 species) to be recorded in Korean waters after A. sculpta. The specimen was discovered during a September 2022 survey, by SCUBA diving in the upper mesophotic zone of the East Sea, Korea. This study presents the morphological characteristics of A. megapoma, highlighting its differences from the related species within a comprehensive taxonomic description. It provides high-resolution images of A. megapoma and a taxonomic key for Amphiophiura species in Korea.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2022

Sea cucumber, Aposticopus japonicus, is a major invertebrate species in the coastal regions of Korea. To evaluate the short-term stress levels according to the releasing methods, this study investigated the gene expression profiles of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. When the juvenile sea cucumbers were packed in the vinyl bag with oxygen followed by transportation for 30 min or air-exposed for 1 h, the HSP90 gene expression levels in the experimental groups were significantly increased compared to those of the control groups (transported group, p=0.001; air-exposed group, p=0.032). The experimental group at 6 h post-release by seed-spreading method and at 2~6 h post-release by underwater hose-releasing method on board a fishing boat showed that the levels of HSP90 gene expression were not statistically significant but decreased slightly compared to the control group (seed-spreading group, p=0.069; hose-releasing group, p=0.093). On the other hand, the HSP90 gene expression showed an increasing pattern as the time passed (~6 h) after underwater release of juvenile sea cucumbers by divers (p=0.061). These results suggest that HSP90 gene expression can be used to investigate short-term stress response and effective releasing methods of juvenile sea cucumbers.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2006

Sexual maturation and reproductive cycle of the bat star Asterina pectinifera were investigated by histological method. Specimens were collected monthly in Donghwari, Gosunggun, Korea from January 2004 to February 2005. The bat star was dioecious. The gonads are composed of a number of gametogenic follicles. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) of female and male were reached the maximum in July (5.72, 4.54) and the minimum in December (0.89) and January, February (0.51), and the gonad index (GI) of female and male were reached the maximum in July (3.53, 3.91) and the minimum in August (0.95) and October to December (1.0), respectively. The main spawning was from August to September. The reproductive cycle of the bat star could be divided into five stages: in the female, inactive (November-February), early active (January February), late active (March-June), ripe (July), spent and degenerative (August-November) and in the male, inactive (November-February), early active (January-March), late active (April-June), ripe (July), spent and degenerative (August-October), respectively.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.216-222
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• 2006

Feeding habits of Pagrus major collected in the coastal waters off Busan from January to December 2004 were studied. P. major ranged form 8.5 to 44.6 cm in standard length. P. major was a carnivore which consumed mainly hermit crabs, amphipods, crabs, shrimps, polychaetes, echinoderms, and fishes. Its diets included small quantities of gastropods, bivalves, stomatopods, cephalopods, cnidarians, and isopods. It showed ontogenetic changes in feeding habits. Small individuals (8~15 cm SL) preyed mainly on shrimps. However, individuals from 15 cm to 25 cm SL preyed mainly on hermit crabs and polychaetes. Individuals over 25 cm SL preyed mainly on fishes and echinoderms.