Integrative taxonomy of a new cocculinid limpet dominating the Aurora Vent Field in the central Arctic ocean.

ABSTRACT: Deep-sea hydrothermal vents host lush chemosynthetic communities, dominated by endemic fauna that cannot live in other ecosystems. Despite over 500 active vents found worldwide, the Arctic has remained a little-studied piece of vent biogeography. Though located as early as 2001, the faunal communities of the Aurora Vent Field on the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge remained unsampled until recently, owing to difficulties with sampling on complex topography below permanent ice. Here, we report an unusual cocculinid limpet abundant on inactive chimneys in Aurora (3883-3884 m depth), describing it as Cocculina aurora n. sp. using an integrative approach combining traditional dissection, electron microscopy, molecular phylogeny, and three-dimensional anatomical reconstruction. Gross an

SUBMITTER: Chen C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9554515 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature