An Overview of Recent Marine Biodiversity Research in Japan

Abstract

We review recent activities pertaining to taxonomic studies of marine animals, mostly invertebrates, in Japanese waters. Frequent field workshops have increased our knowledge of local faunas. Minute animals, such as those living in the interstices of sediment particles, are still only fragmentarily known in Japan. Training and research vessels have produced significant results in terms of ocean biology; the invention of the ‘inner net’ has enabled trawls to catch small-bodied benthos. Deep-sea surveys with submersibles have enabled the collection—and even in situ observation—of gelatinous or fragile animals that were previously difficult or impossible to study. New records for Japan of higher taxa, such as the orders Bochusacea (Crustacea: Malacostraca) and Thermosbaenacea (Crustacea: Malacostraca), the class Monoplacophora (Mollusca), and the phylum Gnathostomulida, clearly show that knowledge of Japan’s marine biodiversity remains incomplete. Repeated, long-term surveys should be conducted in both shallow and deep waters.