A new deep-sea scalpelliform barnacle, Vulcanolepas buckeridgei sp. nov. (Eolepadidae: Neolepadinae) from hydrothermal vents in the Lau Basin

Abstract

The present study describes a new species of Vulcanolepas from the Lau Basin in the South Pacific. The basal angle of the tergum of Vulcanolepas buckeridgei sp. nov. is elevated from the capitular-peduncular margin at ~1/6 of the capitular height. The mandibles of V. buckeridgei sp. nov. are tridentoid; the cutting margins of the second and third teeth are long and each tooth possesses 18-20 sharp spines. The proximal segments of the anterior and posterior rami of cirrus I are protuberant and with dense, simple setae. DNA barcode sequences of Vulcanolepas buckeridgei sp. nov. are similar to Vulcanolepas sp. 1 collected from the Lau Basin (Herrera et al. 2015). Vulcanolepas buckeridgei is morphologically similar to Vulcanolepas 'Lau A' collected in the Lau Basin (Southward & Newman 1998). This suggests that Vulcanolepas buckeridgei sp. nov. is widespread in the Lau Basin.

Contrasted phylogeographic patterns of hydrothermal vent gastropods along South West Pacific: Woodlark Basin, a possible contact zone and/or stepping-stone

“…oshaeai in the Kermadec Volcanic Arc, and V . verenae in the Mariana Trough [ 35 , 77 – 79 ]. On the contrary, the non-hydrothermal deep-water stalked barnacle Scalpellum stearnsii forms a complex of 4 cryptic species with one species present throughout the South West Pacific, from Papua New Guinea to Fiji [ 73 ].…”

A new deep-sea hot vent stalked barnacle from the Mariana Trough with notes on the feeding ecology of Vulcanolepas

“…The distribution of the genus Vulcanolepas was extended considerably with the collection of Vulcanolepas verenae sp. nov., as this is the first distribution record of Vulcanolepas in the northern hemisphere and extends the bathymetric range of the genus by 649 m (previously the deepest record was 2629 m held by V. buckeridgei; Chan and Chang 2018). This depth rivals that of the deepest known vent barnacle genus, the balanomorph barnacle Eochionelasmus Yamaguchi in Yamaguchi and Newman 1990, which has a depth range of 1764-2500 m for E. ohtai Yamaguchi in Yamaguchi and Newman 1990 in North Fiji, Lau and Manus Back-Arc Basins, Pacific Ocean (Yamaguchi and Newman 1997a).…”

“…These three species of Vulcanolepas possess elongated setae (2.59 mm in V. osheai, 4.6 mm in V. buckeridgei on average, over 3 mm in V. verenae sp. nov) compared with the other Vulcanolepas species without bacteria on their cirri; 1.62 mm on average in V. parensis; and just shy of 2 mm in V. fijiensis (Southward and Newman 1998, Southward 2005, Chan and Chang 2018. Neither Neolepas scotiaensis (originally described in Vulcanolepas and later transferred to Neolepas) nor Leucolepas longa harbor bacteria on their cirri and setae (Tunnicliffe and Southward 2004;Marsh et al 2012;Buckeridge et al 2013).…”

Population Genetic Differentiation on the Hydrothermal Vent Crabs Xenograpsus testudinatus along Depth and Geographical Gradients in the Western Pacific

“…Other hydrothermal systems and species assemblages show different patterns. In the Fiji and Lau Basins, for example, the vent neolepadid barnacles [62,63] and vent crabs (Austinograea) [64] exhibit a strong genetic differentiation between sites. The Xenograpsidae is a relatively old thoracotreme family and on the basis of a recent molecular study, dates from the late Cretaceous [65].…”