Deep-sea Ampharetidae (Polychaeta) from Capbreton Canyon (north-east Atlantic) with the description of a new species

Abstract

During the Capbreton cruises (1987-1990), samples of bathyal benthic macrofauna were taken at 37 stations situated along the continental slope (480-1113 m depth) of the Capbreton Canyon (Bay of Biscay, north-east Atlantic). Ten species of polychaetes belonging to six genera (Melinna, Eclysippe, Amphicteis, Anobothrus, Glyphanostomum and Tanseimaruana) of the family Ampharetidae Malmgren, 1866 were collected at 13 of these stations. Most of these species are reported for the first time in the area. Amphicteis aff. wesenbergae is reported for the first time after its recent description and a new species belonging to the genus Glyphanostomum is here described. Moreover, the finding of Melinna monoceroidesrepresents the northernmost record of the species; Tanseimaruana vestis is recorded for the second time from the East Atlantic after its recent finding in Icelandic waters; Anobothrus aff. gracilis is reported for the second time from the Iberian Peninsula, representing, the southernmost record of the species in the Atlantic Ocean. The potential identification of two fragments of an Ampharetinae indet as Anobothrus laubieri, a deep water Arctic species, is discussed.