ABSTRACT
Amphipod crustaceans were collected at all 55 stations sampled with an epibenthic sledge during two IceAGE expeditions (Icelandic marine Animals: Genetics and Ecology) in 2011 and 2013. In total, 34 amphipod families and three superfamilies were recorded in the samples. Distribution maps are presented for each taxon along with a summary of the regional taxonomy for the group. Statistical analyses based on presence/absence data revealed a pattern of family distributions that correlated with sampling depth. Clustering according to the geographic location of the stations (northernmost North Atlantic Sea and Arctic Ocean) can also be observed. IceAGE data for the Amphilochidae and Oedicerotidae were analysed on species level; in case of the Amphilochidae they were compared to the findings from a previous Icelandic benthic survey, BIOICE (Benthic Invertebrates of Icelandic waters), which also identified a high abundance of amphipod fauna.
ABSTRACT
The Caprellidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Senticaudata) from the upper continental slope of Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula) was studied. The material collected, based on surveys conducted from 2002 to 2009, comprised 11 species. A new genus Selvacaprella gen. nov., and three new species Selvacaprella jimenoi sp. nov., Liropus vitucoi sp. nov. and Liropus willyi sp. nov. are described. Pedoculina cf. bacescui and Parvipalpina cf. verrucosa are also figured in detail. Parvipalpina cf. verrucosa and Caprella cf. ciliata enlarge their distribution range ca. 2000 km to the South. Pedoculina cf. bacescui represent the first record of the genus for the Atlantic. These three species are also first records for the Iberian Peninsula. The total number of known caprellid species in the Iberian Peninsula (including adjacents waters of Ceuta, Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Azores and Madeira) is 50 so far, making this area one of the most diverse in the world for this group of amphipods.
