Distribution extension of a vent scale worm Branchinotoglumabipapillata (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) in the Indian Ocean.

ABSTRACT: Branchinotogluma Pettibone, 1985 is the most species-rich genus within the subfamily Lepidonotopodinae Pettibone, 1983, comprising 18 valid species from chemosynthesis-based ecosystems in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Here, we report a new distributional record of Branchinotoglumabipapillata Zhou, Wang, Zhang & Wang, 2018, at the hydrothermal vent sites on the northern Central Indian Ridge (nCIR). This record represents the northernmost occurrence of B.bipapillata in the Indian Ocean. We conducted a comparative study of the nCIR population and other documented populations using distributional information, morphological traits, and genetic markers (two mitochondrial [COI, 16S rRNA] and one nuclear [18S rRNA] genes). While most morphological charact

SUBMITTER: Lee WK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11494209 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature