Distribution of haploniscids (Isopoda, Asellota, Haploniscidae) in Icelandic waters, with description of Haploniscus astraphes n. sp. from the Iceland basin and the Southeast Atlantic Ocean.

Ten species of Haploniscidae Hansen, 1916 were sampled in Icelandic waters during expeditions in the framework of the BIOICE project. Nine of these were known from the North Atlantic Ocean, i.e. Haploniscus aduncus Lincoln, 1985, H. ampliatus Lincoln, 1985, Haploniscus angustus Lincoln, 1985, H. bicuspis (Sars, 1877), H. foresti Chardy, 1974, H. hamatus Lincoln, 1985, H. spinifer Hansen, 1916, Antennuloniscus simplex Lincoln, 1985 and Chauliodoniscus armadilloides (Hansen, 1916). All but H. bicuspis and H. angustus were restricted to the Atlantic Ocean south of the Greenland-Iceland-Faeroe Ridge (GIF Ridge), while H. bicuspis occurred at considerable depth ranges both north and south of the GIF Ridge. A new species, Haploniscus astraphes n. sp., is described based on material from the Denmark Strait, North Atlantic and the Guinea Basin, South Atlantic. H. astraphes n. sp. belongs to a group of Haploniscus species closely related to the genus Antennuloniscus and shares several characters with species from that genus, especially the spine row on pleopod 1, the stout sensory seta on the carpus of pereopod 7 and characters of the antennae. H. astraphes n. sp. is characterized by a rectangular body shape, the straight frontal margin of the head and the strongly convex posterior margin of the pleotelson.

First insights into the biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea.

Shallow marine benthic communities around Antarctica show high levels of endemism, gigantism, slow growth, longevity and late maturity, as well as adaptive radiations that have generated considerable biodiversity in some taxa. The deeper parts of the Southern Ocean exhibit some unique environmental features, including a very deep continental shelf and a weakly stratified water column, and are the source for much of the deep water in the world ocean. These features suggest that deep-sea faunas around the Antarctic may be related both to adjacent shelf communities and to those in other oceans. Unlike shallow-water Antarctic benthic communities, however, little is known about life in this vast deep-sea region. Here, we report new data from recent sampling expeditions in the deep Weddell Sea and adjacent areas (748-6,348 m water depth) that reveal high levels of new biodiversity; for example, 674 isopods species, of which 585 were new to science. Bathymetric and biogeographic trends varied between taxa. In groups such as the isopods and polychaetes, slope assemblages included species that have invaded from the shelf. In other taxa, the shelf and slope assemblages were more distinct. Abyssal faunas tended to have stronger links to other oceans, particularly the Atlantic, but mainly in taxa with good dispersal capabilities, such as the Foraminifera. The isopods, ostracods and nematodes, which are poor dispersers, include many species currently known only from the Southern Ocean. Our findings challenge suggestions that deep-sea diversity is depressed in the Southern Ocean and provide a basis for exploring the evolutionary significance of the varied biogeographic patterns observed in this remote environment.