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Lookup NU author(s): Johanna Weston, Dr Priscilla Carrillo-Barragan, Dr Thomas Linley, Dr William Reid, Dr Alan Jamieson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Eurythenes S. I. Smith in Scudder, 1882 are one of the largest scavenging deep-sea amphipods (max. 154 mm) and are found in every ocean across an extensive bathymetric range from the shallow polar waters to hadal depths. Recent systematic studies of the genus have illuminated a cryptic species complex and highlighted the benefits of using a combination of morphological and molecular identification approaches. In this study, we present the ninth species, Eurythenes plasticus sp. nov., which was recovered using baited traps between the depths 6010 and 6949 m in the Mariana Trench (Northwest Pacific Ocean) in 2014. This new Eurythenes species was found to have distinct morphological characteristics and be a well-supported clade based on sequence variation at two mitochondrial regions (16S rDNA and COI). While this species is new to science and lives in the remote hadal zone, it is not exempt from the impacts of anthropogenic pollution. Indeed, one individual was found to have a microplastic fibre, 83.74% similar to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in its hindgut. As this species has a bathymetric range spanning from abyssal to hadal depths in the Central Pacific Ocean basin, it offers further insights into the biogeography of Eurythenes.
Author(s): Weston JNJ, Carrillo-Barragan P, Linley TD, Reid WDK, Jamieson AJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Zootaxa
Year: 2020
Volume: 4748
Issue: 1
Pages: 163–181
Print publication date: 05/03/2020
Acceptance date: 20/02/2020
Date deposited: 25/03/2020
ISSN (print): 1175-5326
ISSN (electronic): 1175-5334
Publisher: Magnolia Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4748.1.9
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4748.1.9
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