Abstract
Comprehensive sampling of meiofauna along the northern continental slope in the Gulf of Mexico has revealed a diverse kinorhynch fauna of undescribed species. The present contribution includes the description of two new species of the cyclorhagid genus Echinoderes. Echinoderes augustae sp. nov. is recognized by the presence of acicular spines in middorsal positions on segments 4 to 8, and in lateroventral positions on segments 6 to 9, tubes in lateroventral positions on segments 2 and 5, midlateral positions on segment 4, and in sublateral positions on segment 8. It furthermore has glandular cell outlets type 2 in subdorsal positions of segment 2, a middorsal protuberance-like extension from the intersegmental border between segments 10 and 11, and conspicuously short and stout lateral terminal spines. Echinoderes skipperae sp. nov. has acicular spines in middorsal positions on segments 4, 6 and 8, and in lateroventral positions on segments 8 and 9, tubes in sublateral and ventrolateral positions on segment 2, in lateroventral positions on segment 5, in lateral accessory positions on segment 8, and in laterodorsal positions on segment 10. The species can furthermore be recognized by its conspicuously well-developed pachycycli at the anterior segment margins of segments 2 to 10, and margins of sternal plates facing the midsternal junctions of segments 3 to 10.
Highlights
The meiobenthic invertebrate group Kinorhyncha can be found in the oceans throughout the world, but even though these animals have been known for more than 150 years, only slightly more than 200 species are described today, and sampling efforts to obtain more information about their biodiversity have been scattered and random, to say the least
The middorsal spines are still shorter, but yet closer, to the dimensions we find in E. augustae sp. nov., and in sublateral position of segment 8, it has a glandular cell outlet type 2, that could be confused with the attachment point of the tube found in E. augustae sp. nov
This study of Gulf of Mexico kinorhynchs has revealed that the Gulf holds a great, yet undescribed, kinorhynch fauna along the continental shelf, and this diversity will most probably turn out to be even greater when the studies are extended to include habitats closer to the coast, further down the slope, or in the deep-sea habitats in the central basin of the Gulf
Summary
The meiobenthic invertebrate group Kinorhyncha can be found in the oceans throughout the world, but even though these animals have been known for more than 150 years, only slightly more than 200 species are described today, and sampling efforts to obtain more information about their biodiversity have been scattered and random, to say the least. Through a series of recent contributions our knowledge about the East Asian kinorhynch fauna has increased greatly (Sørensen et al, 2010a,b,c, 2012a,b, 2013; Lundbye et al, 2011; Sánchez et al, 2013; Thomsen et al, 2013), but a closer examination of the recordings of each species leaves no clear picture about their actual distributional ranges or eventual habitat preferences. Our information about the Gulf of Mexico kinorhynch fauna is extremely scarce, and limited to a single published recording by Chitwood (1951), who reports the finding of Echinoderes steineri from Aransas Bay near Corpus Christi, Texas. The collections have resulted in hundreds of meiobenthic samples and have provided a unique opportunity to get detailed information about the meiofaunal and kinorhynch communities along the rim of the continental shelf. Both of them are highly characteristic in their morphology, which makes them easy to recognize, even for the non-specialist
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