Taxonomic study on bryozoans - new additions to the Korean fauna and new species of Petraliella from Seogwipo waters of Jeju Island

Abstract

The city Seogwipo is located at the southern end of Jeju Island, Korea and strongly affected by the Tsushi­ ma Warm Current, which is a branch of the Kuroshio Current. It is assumed that the sea waters influenced by the warm current show the uniqueness and specificity of marine invertebrate fauna, compared with other sea wa ters of Korea. Besides, the sea bottom of Seogwipo waters is composed of well­developed rocky zones from intertidal to subtidal zone, which provide the best sub­ stratum for bryozoans. The substrata are the most im­ portant environmental factor controlling the distribution of bryozoans (Thomsen, 1977; Cook, 1981). The rocky zone of providing suitable habitat for bryozoans is one of the reasons why many species are consistently report­ ed from Seogwipo waters. Since Seo (2005) reviewed 73 species from Seogwipo waters, Seo and Gong (2006) and Seo (2009) reported two new species, Buffonellaria acutirostris and Bicellariella fragilis. And, Seo and Min (2009) and Seo et al. (2009) recorded Exochella tricuspis (Hincks, 1881), Phidolopora pacifica (Robertson, 1908) and Bantariella bocki (Silén, 1942) new to Seogwipo waters in Jeju Island. This study aims to clarify the diversity of bryozoans from Seogwi­ po waters with the descriptions of one new species and redescriptions of five unrecorded species from Korean waters.