Sea anemones (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) in high sedimentation environments influenced by the Magdalena River (Colombian Caribbean).

Fifteen species of sea anemones (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) have been recorded so far in the Colombian Caribbean, comprising approximately 28% of the total number of known species in the Caribbean Sea. Most species recorded are associated with coral reef communities. However, in the region, no records of sea anemones are known from areas with high sedimentation conditions as is characteristic along the coastline of the Atlántico Department, in Colombia. In this area, organisms are exposed to a high degree of turbidity and sedimentation (~143.9x106 t year-1) as a result of their proximity to the Magdalena River mouth and the 26 micro-basins that flow along its coastline. Several observations and collections were made on soft bottoms, rocky, and artificial substrates in the sectors of Puerto Velero and Caño Dulce to determine the fauna that exist under these conditions. Four species of sea anemones were found belonging to the families Actiniidae and Aiptasiidae, and images from living specimens and cnidae are provided. Bunodosoma cavernatum and Exaiptasia diaphana are here recorded for the first time from the Colombian Caribbean. An updated list of sea anemones in the Colombian Caribbean, now comprising 34 taxa (i.e., 21 species and 13 identified at supra-specific levels), is provided.

A new species of Malletia (Bivalvia, Malletiidae) and new records of deep-water bivalves from Pacific Southern Colombia.

In order to enhance the understanding of Pacific Colombia's deep-water marine fauna, a benthic research cruise (2012 TUM Offshore 6 and 7) was conducted off the coast of the Department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Biological, oceanographic and sediment samples from the continental shelf and slope were collected at depths between 350 and 941 m. A new species of Malletia obtained on that cruise is described and compared with other species from the eastern Pacific. Sixteen species of bivalve mollusks (belonging to 12 families and 15 genera) were identified. Five of them were the first records for Pacific Colombia (Jupiterialobula, Limatulasaturna, Lucinomaheroica, Cuspidariapanamensis, and Dallicordiaalaskana). Four of them had geographic distributions that now extend to Tumaco at the southern end of Nariño.

Brachiopods from off the San Bernardo Archipelago (Colombian Caribbean), with comments on specific synonymies in Tichosina Cooper, 1977.

Colombian brachiopod faunas have not been studied extensively. Only three brachiopod species have been reported from the Colombian Caribbean Sea so far, namely Argyrotheca barrettiana (Davidson, 1866), Terebratulina latifrons Dall, 1920, and the cosmopolitan Platidia anomioides (Scacchi & Philippi, 1844). In this work, brachiopods collected from deep-water environments (90-250 m) off the San Bernardo Archipelago, collected during the MARCORAL cruise, are examined. The studied material consists of four species, two of which are new records for Colombia: Terebratulina cailleti Crosse, 1865 and Tichosina plicata Cooper, 1977. The genus Tichosina belongs to the family Terebratulidae and comprises twenty extant species occurring across the Caribbean. Based on a revision of published descriptions and illustrations, we synonymize Tichosina bullisi Cooper, 1977 and Tichosina dubia Cooper, 1977 with Tichosina plicata Cooper, 1977. Remarkably, apart from reports from southern Guiana, T. plicata is restricted to the margins of the Caribbean plate.