Diversity, phylogeny, and bathymetric zonation of Sirsoe (Annelida: Hesionidae) from colonization experiments in the South China Sea, with the description of three new species.

ABSTRACT: The South China Sea (SCS) basin is hypothesized to host distinct and bathymetrically differentiated fauna due to its semi-enclosed basin and three-layer circulation system. To test this hypothesis, three cow falls are artificially deployed at separate depths (655, 1604, and 3402 m) on Zhongnan seamount in the middle SCS, and the associated worms, Sirsoe spp. are selected as targets to explore their diversity, phylogeny, and zonation pattern. Analyses of collected specimens reveal three new Sirsoe species, which were then nominally described and named as S. polita sp. nov. (655 m), S. nanhaiensis sp. nov. (1604 and 3402 m), and S. feitiana sp. nov. (3402 m), and one known species (S. balaenophila lineage II). Metabarcoding analyses on cow-fall sedim

SUBMITTER: Zhou Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10352092 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature