Abstract
Abstract. From an examination of 34 grab and dredge samples ranging from 110 m to 3584 m water depth, collected during Eltanin cruise 47 across the Kerguelen Plateau, 26 shallow-water and 35 deep-sea benthonic ostracod species have been identified. Systematic notes and illustrations of the common and some of the rare species are presented. Two new species are described: Philoneptunus cassidyi n. sp. and Taracythere abyssora n. sp. Comparisons made with the Atlantic and SW Pacific Oceans and circum-Antarctic regions indicate that the fauna comprises dominantly cosmopolitan deep-sea species while most of the other species have close affinities with the SW Pacific. In the Kerguelen material, seven distinct depth assemblages appear to correspond well with differing watermasses and there is evidence that the relatively shallow position of Antarctic Intermediate Water permits elevation of the upper depth limits of some deep-sea species. Some species have developed ornament of fine reticulation, features not previously seen in those species outside the Kerguelen region.
Highlights
The present study documents benthonic ostracod crustaceans obtained from surface sediment samples on the Kerguelen Plateau and adjacent abyssal regions of the south Indian Ocean, a locality that, with respect to the Ostracoda, has remained largely unstudied since the Challenger Cruise report of Bradleya normani (Brady) (1880)
The original material was obtained using 34 grab and dredge samples collected during Eltanin cruise 47 to the Kerguelen Plateau in 1971. (An additional sample from Eltanin cruise 43, located at 52( 38’S, 75( 25’W, 787 m, is used for illustrative purposes only.) The samples range from 110 m to 3584 m water depth along two transects east of Kerguelen and southwest of Heard Island, as shown in Figure 1 and Table 1
Oceanographic characteristics of waters of the Kerguelen Plateau Much debate has prevailed about the position of the Kerguelen Plateau with respect to its position with Southern Ocean boundaries
Summary
The present study documents benthonic ostracod crustaceans obtained from surface sediment samples on the Kerguelen Plateau and adjacent abyssal regions of the south Indian Ocean, a locality that, with respect to the Ostracoda, has remained largely unstudied since the Challenger Cruise report of Brady (1880). The Kerguelen Plateau is a large topographic high situated in the south-central Indian Ocean, north of Antarctica. The Plateau is an important locality for investigating deep-sea ostracod distribution because of its high latitude and because conditions that are characteristic of the deep sea, such as low temperatures and high nutrient levels, occur near the surface around Kerguelen. This study is the first to report species from a wide depth range of material, often well preserved, in the Southern Ocean. Changes seen in the ostracod assemblages with depth, between 110 m and 3584 m, and their relationship to environmental parameters are the focus of this contribution
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