A new loxosomatid species from the Kuril-Kamchatka trench area: Loxosomella marcusorum sp. n., the first record of hadal Entoprocta

摘要

The first hadal entoproct, Loxosomella marcusorum sp. n., is described from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (45 degrees 57' N, 152 degrees 53' E). It was collected from depths of 6202-6204 m during the German-Russian deep-sea expedition (KuramBio II) aboard the R/V Sonne to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench region in August-September 2016 (cruise SO-250). The species is up to 685 mu m in length, with 10-12 tentacles, with the latero-frontal budding area located at the level of the bottom of a stomach. The stalk ends with a star-shaped plate. L. marcusorum sp. n. is an epibiont of echiurid Thalassema sp. This is the first record of an entoproct living on the body surface of echiurids. A list of all the described deep-sea loxosomatid entoprocts is provided.