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Background: Discoveries of new species often depend on one or a few specimens, leading to delays as researchers wait for additional context, sometimes for decades. There is currently little professional incentive for a single expert to publish a stand-alone species description. Additionally, while many journals accept taxonomic descriptions, even specialist journals expect insights beyond the descriptive work itself. The combination of these factors exacerbates the issue that only a small fraction of marine species are known and new discoveries are described at a slow pace, while they face increasing threats from accelerating global change. To tackle this challenge, this first compilation of Ocean Species Discoveries (OSD) presents a new collaborative framework to accelerate the description and naming of marine invertebrate taxa that can be extended across all phyla. Through a mode of publication that can be speedy, taxonomy-focused and generate higher citation rates, OSD aims to create an attractive home for single species descriptions. This Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA) approach emphasises thorough, but compact species descriptions and diagnoses, with supporting illustrations and with molecular data when available. Even basic species descriptions carry key data for distributions and ecological interactions (e.g., host-parasite relationships) besides universally valid species names; these are essential for downstream uses, such as conservation assessments and communicating biodiversity to the broader public. New information: This paper presents thirteen marine invertebrate taxa, comprising one new genus, eleven new species and one re-description and reinstatement, covering wide taxonomic, geographic, bathymetric and ecological ranges. The taxa addressed herein span three phyla (Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata), five classes, eight orders and twelve families. Apart from the new genus, an updated generic diagnosis is provided for four other genera. The newly-described species of the phylum Mollusca are Placiphorella methanophila Vončina, sp. nov. (Polyplacophora, Mopaliidae), Lepetodrilus marianae Chen, Watanabe & Tsuda, sp. nov. (Gastropoda, Lepetodrilidae), Shinkailepas gigas Chen, Watanabe & Tsuda, sp. nov. (Gastropoda, Phenacolepadidae) and Lyonsiella illaesa Machado & Sigwart, sp. nov. (Bivalvia, Lyonsiellidae). The new taxa of the phylum Arthropoda are all members of the subphylum Crustacea: Lepechinella naces Lörz & Engel, sp. nov. (Amphipoda, Lepechinellidae), Cuniculomaera grata Tandberg & Jażdżewska, gen. et sp. nov. (Amphipoda, Maeridae), Pseudionella pumulaensis Williams & Landschoff, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Bopyridae), Mastigoniscus minimus Wenz, Knauber & Riehl, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Haploniscidae), Macrostylis papandreas Jonannsen, Riehl & Brandt, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Macrostylidae), Austroniscus indobathyasellus Kaiser, Kniesz & Kihara, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Nannoniscidae) and Apseudopsis daria Esquete & Tato, sp. nov. (Tanaidacea, Apseudidae). In the phylum Echinodermata, the reinstated species is Psychropotes buglossa E. Perrier, 1886 (Holothuroidea, Psychropotidae). The study areas span the North and Central Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the North, East and West Pacific Ocean and depths from 5.2 m to 7081 m. Specimens of eleven free-living and one parasite species were collected from habitats ranging from an estuary to deep-sea trenches. The species were illustrated with photographs, line drawings, micro-computed tomography, confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images. Molecular data are included for nine species and four species include a molecular diagnosis in addition to their morphological diagnosis. The five new geographic and bathymetric distribution records comprise Lepechinella naces Lörz & Engel, sp. nov., Cuniculomaera grata Tandberg & Jażdżewska, sp. nov., Pseudionella pumulaensis Williams & Landschoff, sp. nov., Austroniscus indobathyasellus Kaiser, Kniesz & Kihara, sp. nov. and Psychropotes buglossa E. Perrier, 1886, with the novelty spanning from the species to the family level. The new parasite record is Pseudionella pumulaensis Williams & Landschoff, sp. nov., found in association with the hermit crab Pagurus fraserorum Landschoff & Komai, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How far are species distributed on the abyssal plains? Spanning from 3000 to 6000 m below sea level, abyssal plains cover three-quarters of the ocean floor and are the largest but also least explored habitat on Earth. The question of vertical and horizontal distribution is central to understanding biogeographic and population genetic processes within species inhabiting the deep-sea benthos. Amphipod crustaceans are an important and dominant taxon in this ecosystem. As they are brooders, their dispersal capacities are more limited compared to species with free-swimming larvae, and with the exception of a few scavenging species deep-sea amphipods are restricted to a single ocean. Based on an integrative taxonomic approach (morphology, COI, 16S and 18S) we demonstrate the occurrence of a predatory amphipod species, Rhachotropis abyssalis, in three oceans: the Antarctic Ross Sea, the Northwest Pacific and the North Atlantic; regions more than 20,000 km apart. Although such extensive geographic distributions may represent a rare exception for brooding predators, these findings might also be no exception at all, but a reflection of the rare sampling and rare taxonomic investigation of invertebrate predators in the deep-sea. Our findings highlight our abysmal state of knowledge regarding biodiversity and biogeography on abyssal plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in invasion science is detecting overlooked introductions, their pathways of introduction and spread. One of the most successful introduced taxa in aquatic ecosystems are peracarid crustaceans. There are a growing number of reports of accidental introductions of peracarids worldwide, mostly related to human transport hubs (e.g., ports and marinas). Tanaidaceans are especially abundant in these communities. Most frequently given examples of natural and anthropogenic passive dispersers belong to the family Tanaididae. However, their wide distribution requires confirmation. Most records come from 70--80' of last century, when identification of the species relied only on morphological characters. The small size and large intraspecific variation of tanaidids generate a high taxonomic uncertainty, as in the case of Zeuxo turkensis. Population of this species was previously known from Turkish, Japanese, and Australian coasts. In the two last places this tanaidid was identified as Hexapleomera sasuke, despite there were some premises that it should be synonymized with Z. turkensis. Here we investigate specimens that resembled both Hexapleomera sasuke and Zeuxo turkensis collected in marinas around the Iberian and Moroccan coasts. Integrating morphological and molecular methods (barcoding) we confirmed: (1) the first record and presence of well-structured populations of Z. turkensis in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, representing the first record of the species for Atlantic waters; (2) the conspecificity between H. sasuke and Z. turkensis, which should be synonymized; and (3) the wide distribution of Z. turkensis associated with human transport hubs (i.e. marinas) in the study area, showing its potential for introduction and spread. Integrated approaches and greater taxonomic support are key to advancing knowledge on the origin and invasion patterns of this and other small and poorly known human-mediated widespread species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How far are species distributed on the abyssal plains? Spanning from 3000 to 6000 m below sea level, abyssal plains cover three-quarters of the ocean floor and are the largest but also least explored habitat on Earth. The question of vertical and horizontal distribution is central to understanding biogeographic and population genetic processes within species inhabiting the deep-sea benthos. Amphipod crustaceans are an important and dominant taxon in this ecosystem. As they are brooders, their dispersal capacities are more limited compared to species with free-swimming larvae, and with the exception of a few scavenging species deep-sea amphipods are restricted to a single ocean. Based on an integrative taxonomic approach (morphology, COI, 16S and 18S) we demonstrate the occurrence of a predatory amphipod species, Rhachotropis abyssalis, in three oceans: the Antarctic Ross Sea, the Northwest Pacific and the North Atlantic; regions more than 20,000 km apart. Although such extensive geographic distributions may represent a rare exception for brooding predators, these findings might also be no exception at all, but a reflection of the rare sampling and rare taxonomic investigation of invertebrate predators in the deep-sea. Our findings highlight our abysmal state of knowledge regarding biodiversity and biogeography on abyssal plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collections of the amphipod genus Oedicerina were obtained during six expeditions devoted to the study of deep-sea environments of the Pacific Ocean. The material revealed four species new to science. Two species (Oedicerina henrici sp. nov. and Oedicerina teresae sp. nov.) were found at abyssal depths of the central eastern Pacific in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone; one species (Oedicerina claudei sp. nov.) was recovered in the Sea of Okhotsk (north-west Pacific), and one (Oedicerina lesci sp. nov.) in the abyss adjacent to the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (KKT). The four new species differ from each other and known species by the shapes of the rostrum, coxae 1 and 4, basis of pereopod 7, armatures of pereonite 7, pleonites and urosomites. An identification key for all known species is provided. The study of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of the four new species and Oedicerina ingolfi collected in the North Atlantic confirmed their genetic distinction. However, small intraspecific variation within each of the studied species was observed. In the case of the new species occurring across the KKT, the same haplotype was found on both sides of the trench, providing evidence that the trench does not constitute an insurmountable barrier for population connectivity. None of the species have so far been found on both sides of the Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), located in the abyssal equatorial Pacific, has been subject to intensive international exploration for polymetallic nodule mining over the last four decades. Many studies have investigated the potential effects of mining on deep-sea ecosystems and highlighted the importance of defining environmental baseline conditions occurring at potential mining sites. However, current information on biodiversity and species distributions in the CCZ is still scarce and hampers the ability to effectively manage and reduce the potential impacts of mining activities. As part of the regulatory regimes adopted by the International Seabed Authority, concession holders are required to conduct an environmental impact assessment and gather baseline data on biodiversity and community structure in relation to their license areas. In the present study, we used an integrative molecular and morphological approach to assess species richness and genetic variation of deep-sea scavenging amphipods collected in two nodule-mining exploration areas (UK-1 and OMS-1 areas) and one Area of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI-6) in the eastern part of the CCZ. We analyzed the DNA sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of 645 specimens belonging to ten distinct morphospecies. Molecular data uncover potential cryptic diversity in two investigated species, morphologically identified as Paralicella caperesca Shulenberger & Barnard, 1976 and Valettietta cf. anacantha (Birstein & Vinogradov, 1963). Our study highlights the importance of using molecular tools in conjunction with traditional morphological methods for modern biodiversity assessment studies, particularly to evaluate morphologically similar individuals and incomplete specimens. The results of this study can help determine species identity and ranges, information which can feed into environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North Atlantic lepechinellid amphipod species were investigated using morphological and molecular techniques based on material collected during two IceAGE expeditions in 2011 and 2013 (Ice landic marine A nimals: G enetics and E cology). The presence of eyes is reported for the first time for the family Lepechinellidae. Four lepechinellid species, Lepechinella grimi , L. helgii , L. skarphedini and Lepechinelloides karii were distinct across morphological, COI and 16S data. Lepechinella arctica , L. norvegica and L. victoriae were seen to be morphologically similar. No morphological or molecular separation was observed between L. arctica and L. norvegica , indicating that these taxa should not be considered separate species. Full illustrations of habitus and mouthparts are presented for L. arctica and a new synonymy is provided recognizing L. norvegica as a junior synonym of L. arctica. While L. victoriae shows little morphological variation from L. arctica , COI and 16S data show this taxon as genetically distinct. Furthermore, new geographic and depth ranges for North Atlantic and Arctic lephechinellids are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 FROM AUTHOR]

Amphipods constitute an abundant part of Icelandic deep-sea zoobenthos yet knowledge of the diversity of this fauna, particularly at the molecular level, is scarce. The present work aims to use molecular methods to investigate genetic variation of the Amphipoda sampled during two IceAGE collecting expeditions. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of 167 individuals originally assigned to 75 morphospecies was analysed. These targeted morhospecies were readily identifiable by experts using light microscopy and representative of families where there is current ongoing taxonomic research. The study resulted in 81 Barcode Identity Numbers (BINs) (of which >90% were published for the first time), while Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery revealed the existence of 78 to 83 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Six nominal species (Rhachotropis helleri, Arrhis phyllonyx, Deflexilodes tenuirostratus, Paroediceros propinquus, Metopa boeckii, Astyra abyssi) appeared to have a molecular variation higher than the 0.03 threshold of both p-distance and K2P usually used for amphipod species delineation. Conversely, two Oedicerotidae regarded as separate morphospecies clustered together with divergences in the order of intraspecific variation. The incongruence between the BINs associated with presently identified species and the publicly available data of the same taxa was observed in case of Paramphithoe hystrix and Amphilochus manudens. The findings from this research project highlight the necessity of supporting molecular studies with thorough morphology species analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]