黄海中华哲水蚤繁殖、种群补充与生活史研究

中华哲水蚤是黄、东海浮游动物关键种，连接初级生产与较高营养级，在海洋生态系统中占据核心地位。在以往研究基础上，依据2006年3月至2007年8月黄海9个航次、胶州湾11个航次现场调查数据以及大量室内实验数据，本文研究了中华哲水蚤的繁殖、种群补充以及油脂积累的季节变化，期望初步阐明中华哲水蚤在黄海的种群动态及驱动因素、并构建其生活史概念模型。 3、4月份，黄海与胶州湾中华哲水蚤的生殖腺普遍发育成熟、产卵率较高，中华哲水蚤种群进入繁殖、种群补充的活跃期，恰好可以利用此时较好的食物条件。5、6月份，中华哲水蚤在黄海近岸海区仍表现出较高的产卵率，而陆架海区的中华哲水蚤生殖腺成熟度、产卵率逐渐降低，种群逐渐表现出度夏特征—C5占优势、积累大量脂类。整个夏季，中华哲水蚤的繁殖率、种群补充率在整个黄海都较低，尤其在黄海冷水团区：中华哲水蚤生殖腺停滞于未成熟的GS1－GS2期，产卵率为零。10月，中华哲水蚤在冷水团边缘潮汐锋区的繁殖、种群补充活跃，或许可以解释秋、冬季近岸种群的恢复。11月之后，随着垂直混合的加强，黄海冷水团逐渐消失，此时陆架区的中华哲水蚤种群结束度夏过程，并以较低的繁殖率进行种群补充，直到次年3、4月份食物环境转好，中华哲水蚤种群出现新一轮繁殖、补充高峰。本文依据中华哲水蚤雌体密度、产卵率、孵化率等计算了中华哲水蚤的种群潜在补充率，我们发现，陆架区种群仅在3、4月份出现较强补充以及冬季的微弱补充，而近岸海区除夏季外，于各个季节均可进行比较活跃的种群补充，其中春季种群补充规模、强度最大；整体来看，春季是黄海中华哲水蚤种群补充的最重要时期。 本文详细研究了中华哲水蚤的繁殖与各种环境、雌体自身因素之间的关系：1、统计结果表明，中华哲水蚤的产卵率与海区食物条件（浮游植物生物量、纤毛虫丰度）之间具有紧密联系，而与油囊体积无关；在饥饿培养条件下，中华哲水蚤只能维持3－6天的产卵，而添加食物2－7天内，即可逐渐恢复产卵；体内积累油脂在饥饿过程中有所消耗，不过仍然不能阻止产卵率的下降；这些结果表明中华哲水蚤繁殖的能量所需主要来自于近期摄食，而体内储存脂类可能主要用于代谢所需，是应对不利条件的一种能量缓冲。2、统计分析表明：产卵率与雌体前体长间具有一定的正相关性，这可能由于体长较长的雌体往往具有较高的怀卵量；产卵率与温度之间没有显著的统计关系，温度可能通过调节中华哲水蚤的代谢率、体长等间接影响到产卵率。3、值得一提的是，本文发现中华哲水蚤的产卵率与其生殖腺成熟度之间具有非常紧密的统计关系，这为通过保存样品估算产卵率以及长期历史样品、数据间的比较提供了可能。 春季硅藻水华是黄海及其邻近海域的重要季节性特征。本文针对硅藻水华与中华哲水蚤繁殖的关系进行了多次现场研究，我们发现，硅藻水华因其发生海区、硅藻优势种类不同而对中华哲水蚤繁殖具有复杂多样的影响。2006年3月，胶州湾东部海区发生中肋骨条藻（Skeletonema costatum）水华，中华哲水蚤的产卵率显著增高，但其孵化率相对较低（50%左右）；2007年2月，胶州湾东部发生环纹劳德藻（Landeria annulata）水华，中华哲水蚤卵的孵化率在各种处理下均接近100%；2006年4月，黄海东北部发生太平洋海链藻（Thalassiosira pacifica）水华，产卵率与孵化率均处于调查海区的中等水平；2007年4月，黄海中部海区发生中肋骨条藻水华，中华哲水蚤在此次调查海区平均产卵率高达27.8 卵/雌体/天，远远高于以往同时期的调查结果，孵化率、幼体存活率也普遍较高；此次硅藻水华对于黄海陆架区中华哲水蚤的种群补充具有积极的促进作用。综上，硅藻水华对中华哲水蚤繁殖的影响表现出种类、海区特异性，其具体机理仍需进一步研究。 本文研究了黄海中华哲水蚤C5期油脂积累的区域、季节变化，并探讨了油脂积累对中华哲水蚤的生理、生活史的可能作用。黄海近岸区的C5期油囊体积常年较小，而陆架区则表现出明显的季节差异。在陆架区，C5期是中华哲水蚤度夏种群的主要组成部分，其油囊体积与度夏过程有密切联系：最大油囊体积（可占前体部体积的30%以上）出现于度夏准备期（5、6月），随着度夏过程的进行，油囊体积因代谢而不断消耗，至12月时，油囊体积降低到与近岸种群无异。次年4月以后，油脂积累可能随食物条件转好而再次开始积累。我们认为黄海中华哲水蚤所积累油脂除了可以为休眠提供能量以克服较长时期食物缺乏之外，还可能是休眠的诱导因素，对其生活史具有重要意义。 黄海近岸海区与陆架海区在水团特征、中华哲水蚤种群丰度与结构、繁殖特征、种群补充、油脂储存策略等方面具有显著差异，因此，本文分别讨论了这两个区域中华哲水蚤的生活史。黄海陆架海区中华哲水蚤在全年共有4－5个世代：11月末，中华哲水蚤结束度夏过程，种群中占优势的C5期个体开始蜕皮为成体、逐渐成熟、繁殖，由此产下的子代可称之为G0，此世代在食物条件较差的冬季发育成熟后可以产下G1；G1于3月初发育成熟，恰逢春季较好的食物条件，于是在3月初－5月中旬很可能发育G2、G3两个世代；假若陆架区食物环境适宜，5月中旬后很可能产生新的世代—G4；G3与G4两个世代的混合种群共同进入度夏过程，期间，一小部分C5蜕皮为成体，大部分C5保持滞育状态；至12月冷水团消退后，G3、G4世代C5蜕皮、成熟，开始新的生活周期。中华哲水蚤生殖腺成熟度、油囊体积的季节变化与上述概念模型具有较好的对应关系，另外，这两个参数简单易用、对环境变化敏感，可以尝试应用于气候变化与桡足类关系等长期研究中。 以往的研究更多的关注于黄海陆架区的中华哲水蚤种群，对近岸种群的关注较少，本文初步探讨了近岸种群的种群补充、世代情况。相对于陆架区，黄海近岸区中华哲水蚤的生活史更为复杂，区域差异较大。近岸海区中华哲水蚤产卵率、种群周转率较高；同时，近岸海区是多种鱼类的产卵场、索饵场，该区域的各营养级间的能量流动对黄海海洋生态系统的结构功能至关重要。因此，在将来的研究中，近岸海区中华哲水蚤种群的生态学、生活史应该受到同样的重视。

Characteristics of nitrogen forms in the southern Huanghai Sea surface sediments

The distributions of different forms of nitrogen in the surface sediments of the southern Huanghai Sea are different and affected by various factors. The contents of IEF-N, SOEF-N and TN gradually decrease eastward, and those of SAEF-N northward, while those of WAEF-N westward. Around the seaport of the old Huanghe (Yellow) River, the contents of both SOEF-N and TN are the highest. Among all the factors, the content of fine sediment is the predominant factor to affect the distributions of different forms of nitrogen. The contents of IEF-N, SOEF-N, and TN have visibly positive correlation with the content of fine sediments, and the correlative coefficient is 0.68, 0.58 and 0.71 respectively, showing that the contents of the three forms of nitrogen increase with those of fine sediments. The content of WAEF-N is related to that of fine sediments to a certain extent, with a correlative coefficient of 0.35; while the content of SAEF-N is not related to that of fine sediments, showing that the content of SAEF-N is not controlled by fine grain-size fractions of sediments. In addition, the distributions of different forms of nitrogen are also interacted one another, and the contents of IEF-N and SOEF-N are obviously affected by TN, while those of inorganic nitrogen (WAEF-N, SAEF-N and IEF-N) are not affected by SOEF-N and TN obviously, although they are interacted each other.

Grazing impact of copepods on phytoplankton in the Bohai Sea

During spring (April/May 1999) and autumn (September/October 1998) cruises in the Bohai Sea, China, copepods were the dominant components of mesozooplankton, the most abundant species being Calanus sinicus, Centropages mcmurrichi, Paracalanus parvus, Acartia bifilosa and Oithona similis. Pigment ingestion rates by three size classes of copepods (200-500, 500-1000 and > 1000 mum) were measured. In the south of the investigation area, gut pigment content (GPC), individual pigment-specific ingestion rates and grazing impacts on phytoplankton were lower in spring than in autumn. In the central area, GPC and individual pigment-specific ingestion rates were higher in spring than in autumn. The grazing impact on phytoplankton by the copepod assemblages was lower in spring than in autumn, however, because of the relatively smaller biomass in spring. In the western area where the Bohai Sea joins the Yellow Sea, GPC, individual pigment-specific ingestion rates and grazing impacts on phytoplankton were higher in spring than in autumn. Among the three size groups, the small-sized animals (200-500 mum) contributed more than 50% (range 38-98%) of the total copepod grazing during both cruises. The grazing impact on phytoplankton by copepods was equivalent to 11.9% (range 3.0-37.1%) of the chlorophyll-a standing stock and 53.3% (range 21.4-91.4%) of the primary production during the spring cruise. Grazing impact was equivalent to 6.3% (range 2.0-11.6%) of the chlorophyll-a standing stock and >100% (range 25.7-141.6%) of the primary production during the autumn cruise. The copepod community apparently consumed only a modest proportion of the standing stock of phytoplankton during spring and autumn blooms. They did, however, sometimes graze a significant proportion of daily primary production and hence were presumably able to limit the rate of further accumulation of phytoplankton, or even to prevent it. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution characteristics of matrix-bound phosphine along the coast of China and possible environmental controls

Matrix-bound phosphine (MBP) concentrations in surface sediments collected from 37 stations along the coast of China in 2006 are reported. MBP was found in all samples and the average concentration was 6.30 ng kg(-1) dry weight (dw). The distribution of MBP showed certain spatial variation characteristics with high MBP concentrations at stations near to the coast. The average concentrations of MBP in the northern Yellow Sea (NYS), the southern Yellow Sea (SYS), the northern area of East China Sea (NECS), the southern area of East China Sea (SECS), and South China Sea (SCS) were 5.57 +/- 3.78, 3.78 +/- 2.81, 5.27 +/- 3.07, 5.48 +/- 4.05 and 13.52 +/- 7.86 ng kg(-1) dw. respectively. The correlations between MBP and influencing factors, such as the sedimentary environmental characteristics (sediment type, the grain size, contents of phosphorous, organic matters and redox potential) and the aquatic environmental characteristics (temperature, salinity, depth and hydrodynamics) were studied. The results indicated that MBP was strongly influenced by various factors, such as total phosphorus (TP), organic phosphorus (OP), organic carbon (OC), the grain size and hydrodynamics, all of which not only offered reasonable interpretations for the distribution characteristics of MBP but also provided evidence to support the viewpoint that phosphine originated from OP decomposition. This work is the first comprehensive study of the distribution of MBP along the coast of China and its relationships with environmental factors which will lead to a better understanding of the phosphorus (P) biogeochemical cycle in the sea. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Response of the diatom flora in Jiaozhou Bay, China to environmental changes during the last century

The diatom flora in a 164 cm long sediment core obtained from Jiaozhou Bay (Yellow Sea, China) was analyzed in order to trace the response of diatoms to environmental changes over the past 100 years. The sediment core was dated by Pb-210 and Cs-137 and represented approximately 100 years (1899-2001 A.D.). The flora was mainly composed of centric diatoms (59-96%). The concentration of diatoms declined sharply above 30 cm (after similar to 1981 A.D.), while the dominant species changed from Thalassiosira anguste-lineatus, Thalassiosira eccentria, Coscinodiscus excentricus, Coscinodiscus concinnus and Diploneis gorjanovici to Cyclotella stylorum and Paralia sulcata. Species richness decreased slightly, and the cell abundance of warm-water species increased. We argue that these floral changes were probably caused by climate change in combination with eutrophication resulting from aquaculture and sewage discharge. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seasonal and spatial variation in abundance and egg production of Paracalanus parvus (Copepoda: Calanoida) in/out Jiaozhou Bay, China

The spatial distribution of stage-specific abundance and reproduction of the copepod Paracalanus parvus were studied from October 2005 to September 2006 in the Jiaozhou Bay. This copepod occurred continuously in this bay throughout the year. The species reached the lowest abundance in April and peaked in June. From October to December, distribution center mainly occurred in offshore water and at the mouth of the bay. In winter, early copepodites and adults gradually decreased and till February, most of the population was only comprised of CIV-CV stages. Overwintering copepodites matured in March and males tended to mature before female. From May to September, each stage occurred in the population and gradually reached high abundance. Temperature and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration in the three stations can't clearly explain the seasonal variation in stage-specific abundance, so we surmised the important effect of the Yellow Sea. Egg production rate (EPR) reached its lowest in winter and peaked in June at 60.8 eggs female(-1) day(-1) in nearshore water. In the warming period, EPR in nearshore water was statistically higher and EPR > 10 eggs female(-1) day(-1) lasted longer than that in offshore water, showing the importance of nearshore water for recruitment of R parvus. Our study showed that EPR was positively related to temperature and total chlorophyll a in offshore water and mouth of the bay. In nearshore water, the relationships between EPR and temperature and Chl-a in three size fractions were not the same as those in offshore water, suggesting complicated ecosystem in such a eutrophic area in warming period. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Immune condition of Apostichopus japonicus during aestivation

Aestivation is an indispensable state in the life history of sea cucumbers, Apostichopus japonicus. The immune characteristics of the coelomic fluid of A. japonicus, were investigated during aestivation. Samples were collected between July and November 2006 from a coastal pond located off the Yellow Sea in Jiaonan, Shandong Province, China. The total coelomocytes counts (TCC), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), catalase (CAT), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and lysozyme (IZM) in the coelomic fluid were measured. The activities of catecholamines, [adrenaline (AD), noradrenaline (NA), and dopamine (DOP)] were estimated. TCC decreased from July to September, indicating weakness of the cellular immune activity at that time. Activities of SOD, CAT, MPO, and LZM changed significantly from July to October. Catecholamines AD and NA in coelomic fluid were significantly higher on August 21 and November 27. There was no significant variation in DOP during the sampling period. Thus, immune characters in coelomic fluid of A. japonicus changed significantly during aestivation. Water temperature was significantly and negatively correlated with TCC, and salinity was significantly and positively correlated with AD and NA. The mechanism of aestivation in A. japonicus is complex and might not be attributed only to environmental changes, such as temperature and salinity, as shown in previous studies. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Isolation and characterization of novel marine Roseobacter clade members producing unique intracellular chromium-rich aggregates

The marine Roseobacter clade comprises one of the largest fractions of heterotrophic marine bacteria and accounts for about 16% of 16S rRNA gene clones retrieved from marine bacterioplankton. Their global distribution seems to be related to oceanic water masses and their environmental and biogeochemical properties. In this study, we report isolation and characterization of novel Roseobacter clade members from the Yellow Sea, China. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences reveals that the new isolates (YSCB1, YSCB2, YSCB3 and YSCB4) are closely related to uncultured Arctic seawater bacterium R7967 (99.57-100% sequence identity) and to the cultured Roseobacter sp. DSS-1 (99.27-99.76% sequence identity) isolated from the southeastern coastal water of the USA. Interestingly, YSCB strains possess unique intracellular chromium-containing aggregates. Therefore, these novel Roseobacter clade members exhibit a peculiar property in mineral biogeneration. (c) 2006 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous enumeration of diatom, protozoa and meiobenthos from marine sediments using Ludox-QPS method

The Ludox-QPS method is a newly developed technique, which combines the Ludox HS 40 density centrifugation and quantitative protargol stain, to enumerate marine ciliates with good taxonomic resolution. We tested the method for simultaneous enumeration of diatoms, protozoa and meiobenthos and compared its extraction efficiency for meiobenthos with that of the routine Ludox-TM centrifugation and a modified protocol using Ludox HS 40. We conducted the evaluation with a sample size of 8.3 ml each from sandy, muddy-sand and muddy sediments collected from the intertidal area of the Yellow Sea in summer 2006 and spring 2007. The Ludox-QPS method not only produced high extraction efficiencies of 97 +/- 1.3% for diatoms and 97.6 +/- 0.8% for ciliates, indicating a reliable enumeration for eukaryotic microbenthos, but also produced excellent extraction efficiencies of on average 97.3% for total meiobenthos, 97.9% for nematodes and 97.8% for copepods from sands, muddy sands and mud. By contrast, the routine Ludox-TM centrifugation obtained only about 74% of total meiobenthos abundance with one extraction cycle, and the modified Ludox HS 40 centrifugation yielded on average 93% of total meiobenthos: 89.4 +/- 2.0% from sands, 93 +/- 4.1% from muddy sands and 97.1 +/- 3.0% from mud. Apart from the sediment type, sample volume was another important factor affecting the extraction efficiency for meiobenthos. The extraction rate was increased to about 96.4% when using the same modified Ludox centrifugation for a 4 ml sediment sample. Besides the excellent extraction efficiency, the Ludox-QPS method obtained higher abundances of meiobenthos, in particular nematodes, than the routine Ludox centrifugation, which frequently resulted in an uncertain loss of small meiobenthos during the sieving process. Statistical analyses demonstrated that there were no significant differences between the meiobenthos communities revealed by the Ludox-QPS method and the modified Ludox HS 40 centrifugation, showing the high efficiency of the Ludox-QPS method for simultaneous enumeration of diatom, protozoa and meiobenthos. Moreover, the comparatively high taxonomic resolution of the method, especially for diatoms and ciliates, makes it feasible to investigate microbial ecology at community level.

Community structure and seasonal dynamics of planktonic ciliates along salinity gradients

The ciliate community structure and seasonal dynamics in a solar saltern of the Yellow Sea were studied based oil 4 sampling dates and 8 stations with salinities from 27.7 parts per thousand to 311.0 parts per thousand. The effects of the type and concentration of the fixative used (Lugol's and Bouin's) were tested at the first sampling date. Fixative type and fixative concentration had significant effects on ciliate abundance and blovolume, with 1% Lugol's giving the best results. A detailed investigation using live observations and protargol staining techniques revealed a total of 98 morphospecies from 8 sampling stations. There was obvious seasonal variation in species composition at most of the stations, but this tended to be less distinct with increasing salinity, as the dominant ciliate group shifted from oligotrichs to heterotrichs. Ciliate abundance varied from 4.40 x 10(1) to 2.11 x 10(5) cells l(-1) and biomass ranged between 2.39 and 9.87 x 10(3) mu g Cl-1 (at a salinity of 147.6 parts per thousand). Both abundance and biomass decreased abruptly when salinity exceeded 100-150 parts per thousand. Statistical analyses Suggested that the dynamics of ciliate abundance and biomass were regulated by both salinity and by season, but those of diversity and species richness were mainly controlled by salinity and both significantly decreased with increasing salinity. (C) 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Summertime community structure of intertidal macrobenthos in Changdao Archipelago, Shandong Province, China

The community structure of intertidal macrobenthos in Changdao Archipelago (north of Shandong Peninsula, between Bohai Bay and the northern Yellow Sea) was examined based on samples collected from 14 stations in five transects in June 2007. Three stations corresponding to high, medium and low tidal areas were set up for each transect. A total of 68 macrobenthic species were found in the research region, most of which belonged to Mollusca and Crustacea. The average abundance and biomass of the macrobenthos was 1383 ind./m(2) and 372.41 g/m(2), respectively. The use of an arbitrary similarity level of 20% resulted in identification of five groups among the 14 stations in the research region. There were remarkable differences in the biomass, abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of the different sediments. Specifically, the order of biomass was rocky shores > gravel > mud-sand > coarse sand > stiff mud, while the order of abundance was rocky shores > coarse sand > mud-sand > gravel > stiff mud, and that of the diversity index was mud-sand > gravel > stiff mud > rocky shores > coarse sand. The above results revealed that the sediment type was the most important factor affecting the structure of the macrobenthic community of the intertidal zone.

Morphology and infraciliature of three species of Metaurostylopsis (Ciliophora, Stichotrichia): M. songi n. sp., M. salina n. sp., and M. marina (Kahl 1932) from sediments, saline ponds, and coastal waters.

Two new urostylid ciliates, Metaurostylopsis songi n. sp. and Metaurostylopsis salina n. sp. and Metaurostylopsis marina (Kahl 1932) are investigated using live observation and protargol impregnation. These species were isolated in Korea from intertidal sediments, saline ponds, and coastal waters. Metaurostylopsis songi is in vivo about 120 pm x 25 mu m, has a slenderly ellipsoidal body, colorless cortical granules in rows on ventral and dorsal body sides, about 54 macronuclear nodules, 28-47 adoral membranelles, five frontal, two or three frontoterminal and six or seven transverse cirri, and 9-12 midventral cirral pairs followed posteriorly by 1-3 single cirri. In vivo M. salina is about 60 pin x 25 mu m, has a pyriform body, colorless cortical granules irregularly arranged, about 45 macronuclear nodules, 18-23 adoral membranelles, three frontal, three to five frontoterminal and two to five transverse cirri, and four or five midventral cirral pairs followed posteriorly by five to seven single cirri. Both species have three marginal cirral rows on each body side and 3 long dorsal kineties. The Korean specimens of M. marina match the Chinese population in all main features. Metaurostylopsis songi differs from M. marina by the more slender body, the number of frontal cirri (invariably five vs. four), and the arrangement of cortical granules (in rows on dorsal and ventral cortex vs. only along dorsal kinetics and anterior body margin). Metaurostylopsis salina differs from its congeners by the distinctly smaller size, the pyriform body shape, the scattered cortical granules (vs. in rows), and number of frontal cirri. It differs from M. marina also by the number of midventral cirral pairs (four or five vs. seven to 11).

Four new species of the Genera Eudesme and Sphaerotrichia (Chordariaceae, Heterokontophyta) from the Chinese Coast

Four new species, Eudesme huanghaiensis Ding et Lu, E. qingdaoensis Ding et Lu, E. shandongensis Ding et Lu and Sphaerotrichia huanghaiensis Ding et Lu, from the western Yellow Sea coast of China are described. Eudesme huanghaiensis is mainly characterized by its spherical or sub-spherical sub-cortical cells, its rhizoidal filaments developing from the basal cells of sub-cortex and its broad sub-cortical and medullary layers. E. qingdaoensis is mainly characterized by its long medullary cells, generally hollow center of the medulla, short sub-cortex with only 3-4 cylindrical cells and long, slender and clavate terminal cells of the rhizoidal filaments. E. shandongensis is mainly characterized by its hollow frond, thick cell walls of both medulla and inner sub-cortical layers and the spherical terminal cells of the rhizoid filaments. Sphaerotrichia huanghaiensis is mainly characterized by its cylindrical, sparsely branched frond with acute angle, and its thick 5-6 layered sub-cortex with long assimilating filaments of 6-10 cells.

Study on the fatty acid composition of jellyfish Rhopilema esculentum

The fatty acids composition in different parts of full-grown Rhopilema esculentum jellyfish from Yellow Sea was investigated. The lipids, extracted from the umbrella and oral arms and gonads of R. eculentum jellyfish, respectively were analysed by combined capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The results show that there are more than thirty kinds of fatty acids in jellyfish, and the fatty acid compositions of three parts of R. esculentum are almost the same. In the three parts, percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are high, and range from 36.23% to 38.74%. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosatetraenoic acid (AA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are three major PUFA.

Rediscovery of the sea cucumber "Toxodora" pacifica Ohshima, 1915 (Echinodermata : Holothuroidea : Apodida)

The apodous holothurian species originally described by Ohshima ( 1915) as Toxodora pacifica has been rediscovered, and its known geographic range extended from Suruga Bay, Japan to the western side of the Yellow Sea, China. As the genus name Toxodora is no longer available, a new genus name, Neotoxodora Liao, Pawson, and Wei, is proposed. The type material of Neotoxodora pacifica is lost, and a Neotype is named for this species.