A novel benthopelagic ctenophore from 7,217m depth in the Ryukyu Trench, Japan, with notes on the taxonomy of deep-sea cydippids

概要

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Two tentaculate ctenophores were observed floating above the sediment at 7,217m depth in the Ryukyu Trench, Japan, anchored by a pair of long, flexible filaments emerging from the end of the animal opposite the simple tentacles. Several characters suggest taxonomic affinities to the genus Aulacoctena, and the taxonomic placement of this genus is reviewed and discussed with reference to recently collected material. In the light of this re-examination a new family is proposed to contain the genus Aulacoctena. The exact taxonomic placement of the enigmatic benthopelagic ctenophore species remains pending due to the difficulty of procuring samples from such abyssal depths with the recent loss of the worlds only submersible platform rated below 7,000m—the ROV Kaiko.
日本プランクトン学会、日本ベントス学会の論文
2007-05-01