Examination of the material collected by Taiwan deep-sea cruises reveals the presence of five species of the deep-sea shrimp genus Glyphocrangon A. Milne-Edwards, 1881, representing new records for Taiwan and Dongsha (Pratas Island; under jurisdiction of Taiwan). These species are Glyphocrangon albatrossae, G. caecescens, G. indonesiensis, G. major and G. proxima, all of which belong to the informal Glyphocrangon spinicauda species group. These findings bring the total number of species in the G. spinicauda species group reported in the waters around Taiwan and Dongsha to 11. The complex ornamentation of the body surface of each species is shown using micro-computed tomography. Diagnosis and illustrations showing diagnostic characters and living colouration are provided for most, if not all, of these species. Glyphocrangon grandis is placed under the synonymy of G. major based on morphology, because it was found that diagnostic characters proposed to distinguish these two taxa are variable within the current series of specimens. The biogeographical distributions of these species are presented, and a key is provided to help identify the 11 known species in this region.

It is necessary to monitor shell-associated polydorid worms owing to the risk that they pose to commercially important molluscs. This requires accurate identification, but is often hampered by morphological similarities among species, insufficient type specimens, and abridged species descriptions. Thus morphological characteristics and molecular sequences of the most harmful polydorid species, Polydora uncinata from Japan and Australia and Polydora hoplura from South Africa were compared to determine whether they represent two morphologically similar, but genetically distinct species, or a single species. A wide range of morphological variation (with respect to size, length of caruncle and pigmentation patterns) was observed in each species and population, and their variations largely overlapped and revealed them to be at the intraspecific level of a single species. This was confirmed by gene sequences of nuclear 18S and 28S rRNA that were completely identical for P. uncinata and P. hoplura. The mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cyt b gene analyses also showed no genetic differences between these two species. The tree topology of the mitochondrial cyt b gene did not reflect geographic differences but instead suggests artificial transportation of the species. We recommend the synonymization of P. uncinata with P. hoplura.

The foliose lichens Pseudocyphellaria pilosella and P. piloselloides are characterized by a cyanobacterial photobiont, a tomentose upper surface, a yellow medulla and yellow pseudocyphellae. The latter species has long been recognized as the sorediate counterpart of the former. The morphological, anatomical, chemical, and molecular analyses performed for this study support their treatment as a single species.

The carapace and chelipeds ornamentation of the deep-water spider crab Rochinia umbonata (Stimpson, 1871), from the Western Atlantic undergo very dramatic ontogenetic changes. Since the also deep-water spider crab Rochinia confusa Tavares, 1991 is differentiated from R. umbonata mostly on the basis of these characters, R. confusa is regarded herein as an ontogenetic stage and, therefore, a junior subjective synonym of R. umbonata.

A taxonomic investigation of Lethariella smithii and L. zahlbruckneri has established that they are conspecific. Three chemical races are recognized: race 1 containing norstictic acid, race 2 norstictic acid and placodiolic acid, and race 3 placodiolic acid as major medullary substances.