A tip of the iceberg—Pseudotanaidae (Tanaidacea) diversity in the North Atlantic

Abstract

During two IceAGE expeditions, a large collection of Tanaidacea was gathered from the shelf down to the slope (213−2750 m) in six areas off Iceland—the Irminger Basin, the Iceland Basin, the Norwegian Sea, the Denmark Strait, the Iceland-Faroe Ridge, and the Norwegian Channel. In this collection, members of the family Pseudotanaidae were most numerous component. We examined 40 samples collected with different gears (e.g., EBS, VVG. GKG), in which 323 pseudotanaid individuals were counted and covered a total depth from 213.9 to 2746.4 m. Morphological identification of the material has revealed the presence of five species: Akanthinotanais cf. longipes, Mystriocentrus biho sp. n. Pseudotanais misericorde sp. n., P. svavarssoni sp. n., and P. sigrunis sp. n. The description of the four new species has been presented in the paper and a rank of the subgenus Akanthinotanais is elevated to a genus rank. A large group of morphologically almost identical specimens, similar with P. svavarssoni sp. n. from a wide depth range and from various areas off Iceland was discriminated to species by applying morphometric methods; one distinct species (P. svavarssoni sp. n.) and complex of presumably cryptic species the species was discovered. Based on current data and literature records, similarity among fauna of Pseudotanaidae was assessed with applying Bray–Curtis formula. As results, potential zoogeographic regions in the North Atlantic have been distinguished.