Benthodytes occidentpalauta sp. nov., a new species of deep-sea holothuroid (Elasipodida: Psychropotidae) from the west of Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Benthodytes occidentpalauta sp. nov. was collected from the Kyushu-Palau Ridge at a depth of 5 481 m in 2021. This new species is characterized by a gelatinous body wall, violet skin, six pairs of dorsal papillae, and a rough mid-ventral surface without tube feet. The dorsal deposits are rod-shaped and tripartite. Two types of papillae deposits as crosses with four arms with central bipartite apophyses. Ventral deposits are rods. Tentacle ossicles are rod-shaped with end protrusions. Gonad deposits are rod-shaped, tripartite, and cross-shaped. The phylogenetic analyses based on cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16S individually and a concatenated dataset of COI and 16S genes of this species support that B. occidentpalauta sp. nov. belongs to Benthodytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]