Two New Species of the Genus Thalassocrinus (Echinodermata : Crinoidea : Hyocrinidae) from the Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Two new species of hyocrinid stalked crinoids from deep waters of the Pacific Ocean are described. Thalassocrinus alvinae n. sp. was collected on the Gorda Ridge and represents the first record of the genus from the Eastern Pacific. Thalassocrinus mironovi n. sp. was found on the bathyal slope off New Caledonia (southwestern Pacific). A short revision of the genus Thalassocrinus is given and affinities between the four known species are discussed.