Abstract
AbstractThe first record of the ophiuroid family Ophiohelidae from the Mediterranean Sea is reported. It consists of the description of the new record ofOphiomyces grandisfrom the Mallorca Channel seamounts in the Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean, where it shows high abundances. We present both the morphological description of the individuals collected and, for the first time, the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence of this species. The morphological traits of our specimens match the available descriptions ofO. grandis. On the other hand, molecular analyses show a large genetic distance betweenO. grandisandOphiomyces delata, the two species being very similar morphologically. Despite the high abundances ofO. grandisreported here, previous surveys in the Mallorca Channel seamounts using ROV did not detect it, emphasizing the importance of beam trawl sampling to improving the biodiversity description of these geomorphological sea bottom features.
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