First benthos samples from Eratosthenes Seamount, eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Samples collected by trawl and grab at 800 m depth atop Eratosthenes Seamount, south of Cyprus, have yielded a relatively rich and diverse fauna. This notably comprises two species of scleractinian coral (Caryophyllia calveri, Desmophyllum cristagalli), which are the first live records from the Levant Basin and significantly extend the species’ depth ranges. Further records include: two types of encrusting foraminiferans; two species of encrusting poriferans; abundant scyphozoan polyps; many individuals of the small actiniarianKadophellia bathyalis; two species of zoantharian — one encrusting an antipatharian; seven species of bivalves; one species of sipunculan; five species of serpulid polychaetes; four species of decapod crustaceans; one species of asteroid; and one species of fish. Main hard substrates obtained include dead scleractinians, fossilized polychaete tubes made mainly of agglutinated pelagic foraminiferan tests, and shell fragments of the cephalopodArgonauta argo with signs of rapid cementation of the attached sediment crust.