Abstract
SUMMARY: Twelve species of recent brachiopods belonging to the genera Lingula, Discradisca, Novocrania, Xenobrochus, Eucalathis, Frenulina, Argyrotheca, Campages, Thecidellina and Lacazella were identified in samples collected during shallow-water cruises around New Caledonia, southwest Pacific. Six genera, Lingula, Xenobrochus, Eucalathis, Frenulina, Campages and Thecidellina, have been already reported from the New Caledonian region, while four genera, Discradisca, Novocrania, Argyrotheca and Lacazella are the first records from this region. Additionally, Discradisca stella is the first discinid brachiopod recognized in the New Caledonia area. One new species is described, the megathyridid Argyrotheca neocaledonensis n. sp. The biogeographical affinities of the New Caledonia brachiopod faunas are briefly discussed.
Highlights
The New Caledonia exclusive economic zone (EEZ), situated between Australia and the Vanuatu archipelago, has one of the most intensively studied faunas in the southwest Pacific
Very little has been known about the shallow-water brachiopods of the New Caledonian region (Emig, 1988; Bitner, 2007a), though more is known about the deep-sea benthic communities
The brachiopod collection described here was obtained from the shallow waters around the main island of New Caledonia
Summary
The New Caledonia exclusive economic zone (EEZ), situated between Australia and the Vanuatu archipelago, has one of the most intensively studied faunas in the southwest Pacific. Brachiopods from this region have mostly been collected from waters at more than 100 m depth (d’Hond, 1987; Laurin, 1992, 1997; Bitner et al, 2008b; Bitner, 2009) and until now only four species—two lingulides Lingula anatina Lamarck and L. adamsi Dall, a terebratulide Frenulina sanguinolenta (Gmelin) and a thecideide Thecidellina maxilla (Hedley)—have been reported from waters shallower than 100 m (Emig, 1988; Bitner 2007a). Between 1984 and 1989, within the French project “Lagon” 13 cruises were carried out in shallow waters around the largest island of New Caledonia, Grande Terre and around the Chesterfield atoll (Richer de Forges, 1991) The aim of this project was a large-scale geomorphological, sedimentological and faunistic study of each lagoon.
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