Abstract
The bathyal to hadal deep sea of north-west Pacific Ocean was recently intensively sampled during four international expeditions (KuramBio I and II, SoJaBio and SokhoBio). A large amphipod, Rhachotropis saskia n. sp., was sampled in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and increases the number of described hadal species of that area to eight. A detailed description of the new species is provided, including illustrations, scanning-microscope images and molecular analysis. This predatory species was sampled at both continental and ocean abyssal margins of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench as well as at hadal depths of the trench. The wide bathymetric distribution of the new species over more than 3,000 m is confirmed by molecular analysis, indicating that the Kuril Kamchatka Trench is not a distribution barrier for this species. However, the molecular analysis indicated the presence of isolation by distance of the populations of the studied taxon.
Highlights
Exploring hadal depths has been vitalised in the last decade (Jamieson, 2015)
How to cite this article Lörz et al (2018), A new predator connecting the abyssal with the hadal in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, NW Pacific
Several Rhachotropis individuals have been noted from hadal depth in too poor condition to be described (Dahl, 1959; Lörz et al, 2012)
Summary
The focus of biological research at these extreme depths has been the deployment of baited cameras and traps, resulting in an increased knowledge of snailfish and scavenging amphipods (Jamieson et al, 2011; Lacey et al, 2017). The recent increases in sampling effort at hadal depths over extensive bathymetric ranges and across several trenches and the fixation of material suitable for molecular analyses allow studies at both intra- and inter-trench levels (Fujii et al, 2013; Lacey et al, 2016; Ritchie, Jamieson & Piertney, 2016; Devey & Shipboard scientific party, 2015; Brandt et al, 2015a; Brandt et al, 2015b; Brandt & Shipboard scientific party, 2016).
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