Progress in Oceanography | 2019
A new loxosomatid species from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench area: Loxosomella marcusorum sp. n., the first record of hadal Entoprocta
Abstract
Abstract The first hadal entoproct, Loxosomella marcusorum sp. n., is described from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (45°57′ N, 152°53′ E). It was collected from depths of 6202–6204\u202fm during the German–Russian deep-sea expedition (KuramBio II) aboard the R/V Sonne to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench region in August–September 2016 (cruise SO-250). The species is up to 685\u202fμm in length, with 10–12 tentacles, with the latero-frontal budding area located at the level of the bottom of a stomach. The stalk ends with a star-shaped plate. L. marcusorum sp. n. is an epibiont of echiurid Thalassema sp. This is the first record of an entoproct living on the body surface of echiurids. A list of all the described deep-sea loxosomatid entoprocts is provided.