Fatkullina imitata n. sp., second species of a unique cheilostome bryozoan genus with reversed-polarity zooidal budding, and new family Fatkullinidae

A second species of the unique cheilostome bryozoan genus Fatkullina, with reversed-polarity zooidal budding, has been discovered. Fatkullina imitata n. sp. is described from the western Kamchatka shelf and upper slope of the Sea of Okhotsk. It differs from the type species, F. paradoxa, by the combination of orificial characters, the convex distal third of the frontal shield, and predominantly crimson coloration of dry colonies. A new family, Fatkullinidae, is erected to accommodate Fatkullina (as the type genus) and also Stomacrustula, Pachyegis and Lepralioides. The origin of reversed polarity zooidal budding is considered to arise as a consequence of the unique T-shaped geometry of the ancestrula and transverse daughter zooid followed by spiral budding of periancestrular and succeeding generations of zooids within the zone of astogenetic change.

Ecotoxicological assay of seawater quality on the western Kamchatka shelf

Ecotoxicological assay of seawater quality along the shelf of West Kamchatka, including the areas of oil and gas deposits, was conducted in the summer of 2014. Temperature and salinity conditions were usual for summer season, as well as the field of density currents. For introduction of modern and representative bioassay methods in practice of environmental monitoring in the regions of oil and gas production and transportation, embryogenesis of sand dollar Scaphechinus mirabilis was used for biotesting. The stations with high number of the embryos and larvae abnormalities had mosaic distribution - this effect may be connected with shipping of fishing and merchant vessels.