On the state of inventory of the bryozoan fauna in Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan in light of detection of the cheilostome bryozoans Callopora sarae and Microporella trigonellata

In the course of taxonomic study of the fouling community collected from the petrol wharf in Amur Bay (Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan), two cheilostome bryozoan species (Callopora sarae Grischenko, Dick et Mawatari, 2007 and Microporella trigonellata Suwa et Mawatari, 1998) were encountered. These species were never reported from either the Sea of Japan or the Far Eastern seas before. We analyzed the extent and reliability of the previous inventory of the bryozoan fauna in Peter the Great Bay to clarify the status of these species as introduced elements and to exclude the possibility of their incorrect determination. We demonstrate that the degree of inventory of the bryozoan fauna in Peter the Great Bay to date is insufficient to exclude the autochthonic distribution of C. sarae and M. trigonellata in this region, and thus it is insufficient to unequivocally interpret their status. © 2012, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.