Remarkable macrozoobenthic species recorded from Ena Bay and Bishamon Bay on the southern Miura Peninsula

Abstract

In marine macrozoobenthos, the northward expansion of the species distribution along the Japanese coastline has become a popular topic in recent years. Simultaneously, the paucity of information on their status and distribution is a major impediment in evaluating the rarity of each species. In Ena Bay and Bishamon Bay, on the southern Miura Peninsula, located on the Pacific coast of central Japan, citizen-based monitoring and surveys of intertidal macrozoobenthos by experts were conducted in parallel from 2013 to 2023. In this study, we provide habitat information on marine macrozoobenthos, including endangered and/or poorly known species, on four cnidarias, eight mollusks, four annelids and ten decapods obtained from these surveys. Based on this information, we discuss the characteristics and importance of Ena Bay and Bishamon Bay as habitats for marine macrozoobenthos to contribute to the maintenance of regional populations of these species.