Taxonomy of some Galeommatoidea (Mollusca, Bivalvia) associated with deep-sea echinoids: A reassessment of the bivalve genera Axinodon Verrill & Bush, 1898 and Kelliola Dall, 1899 with descriptions of new genera Syssitomya gen. nov. and Ptilomyax gen. nov.
Author
Oliver, P. Graham
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2012
2012-04-25
12
1
24
journal article
21841
10.5852/ejt.2012.12
5217c4a1-a0dd-478e-bd0c-95df35bad69b
2118-9773
3857751
Syssitomya pourtalesiana
sp. nov.
Figs 4B, E
;
7
,
8
A-B
?
Kellia symmetros
–
Locard 1898: 297
, pl.XIII, figs 18-20.
?
Kellia symmetros
–
Friele & Grieg 1901: 29
.
Axinodon symmetros
–
Bouchet & Warén 1979: 216-217
, fig. 3A-D.
Montacuta
(
Axinodon
)
symmetros
–
Gage
et al.
1985: 189
.
Not
Axinodon symmetros
–
Warén 1980: 47
.
Not
Axinodon symmetros
–
Aartsen 1996: 30
, fig. 5
(is
Axinodon ellipticus
Verrill & Bush, 1898
).
Not
Axinodon
sp.1 –
Olabarria 2005: 20
(is
Mysella
sp.).
Etymology
After
Pourtalesia
, the host echinoid; and the Latin termination –
iana
, to denote belonging with.
Material examined
Holotype
1 specimen
,
Norwegian Sea
,
Ormen Lange
gas field, off
Sør-Trøndelag
,
Central
Norway
,
63°47'N
03°35'E
,
815-925 m
, Swedish Museum of Natural History
SMNH5566
.
Paratypes
Same recolt data as for the holotype:
7 specimens
, Swedish Museum of Natural History
SMNH5567
;
1 specimen
+
2
shells, National Museum Wales, Zoology-
NMW. Z
.
2012.014
.
Other material
8 specimens
, Rockall Trough, RRS
Challenger
, stn ES137,
54°40'N
12°19'W
,
2900 m
,
22 Feb. 1978
, leg. I.J. Killeen
NMW
.Z. 2009.045.2;
6 specimens
, Rockall Trough, RRS
Challenger,
stn ES231,
54°42'N
12°12'W
,
2898 m
,
17 May 1983
, leg. I.J. Killeen, National Museum wales, Zoology-
NMW
.Z. 2009.045.3.
Type locality
Norwegian Sea, Ormen Lange gas field, off
Sør-Trøndelag
, Central
Norway
,
63°47’N
03°35’E
,
815- 925 m
, 2009. Swedish Museum of Natural History, det. Anders Warén.
Fig. 7.
Syssitomya pourtalesiana
sp. nov.
from Norwegian Sea.
A-C
. Photo micrographs a external of left valve, internals of both valves.
D-E
. SEM of hinges of right and left valves.
F-G
. SEM of internal of both valves.
H
. SEM of prodissoconch.
I
. SEM of internal of right valve from NORBI cruise, abyssal, Courtesy of Anders Warén.
Measurements (SMNH5566 and part of SMNH5567
paratypes
)
Length (mm) Height (mm) L:H
Holotype 4.1 3.2 1.3:1
Paratype 3.0 2.3 1.3:1
Paratype 2.4 2.0 1.2:1
Paratype 1.8 1.4 1.3:1
Paratype 1.3 1.1 1.2:1
Paratype 1.3 1.1 1.2:1
Description based on specimens from the Norwegian Sea
SHELL. (
Figs 7
,
8
) Small, largest length
4.2 mm
, height
3.2 mm
, breadth
2.7 mm
. Thin, fragile, translucent. Equivalve. Inequilateral, beaks distinctly behind midline. Umbos moderately inflated, beaks orthogyrate or marginally prosogyrate. Outline subovate, longer than high, length to height ratio 1.3:1, distinctly expanded anteriorly becoming a little oblique; anterior dorsal margin short as a depressed but illdefined lunule(
Fig. 8A
1
); anterior broadly rounded; posterior dorsal margin sloping merging smoothly with rounded posterior margin; anterior distinctly more rounded than posterior; ventral margin gently curved. Sculpture of dense, fine commarginal ridges. Prodissoconch II distinct,
390-410 µm
in diameter, sculptured with commarginal lines (
Fig. 7H
); Prodissoconch I weakly demarcated,
148-150 µm
in diameter with a punctate micro-sculpture (
Fig. 7H
). Ligament short, internal, attached to a shallow resilifer situated beneath and posterior of the beaks (
Fig. 7E
). Right valve with a single, projecting, cardinal peg, immediately anterior to this tooth a prominent depression (
Fig. 7D
). Left valve with a short, marginal flange in a posterior lateral position (
Fig. 7E
). Adductor scars oval, roughly of equal size; pallial line entire. Margin entire.
Fig. 8.
Computer enhanced photomicrographs of whole specimens of
Syssitomya pourtalesiana
sp. nov.
from the Norwegian Sea.
A-A
2
. Holotype
A
. Exterior from right side.
A
1
. Dorsal.
A
2
. Ventral.
B
. Paratypes, size series.
ANATOMY. (
Figs 4B, E
;
8A
2
) Mantle margin free for most of its length, joined and attached to terminal of gill axis, anterior (pedal) aperture extensive, posterior aperture very small (
Fig. 8A
2
). Anterior mantle edge thrown into folds (
Fig. 4B
). Adductor muscles of approximately equal size. Foot with a large toe and small heel, byssus functional producing a mass of threads arising from a single stalk. Anterior pedal retractor inserted above the anterior adductor, posterior pedal retractor above the posterior adductor. Ctenidium of single demibranchs, each with up to 30 partly reflected filaments (
Fig. 4B
). Filaments laminar, extended abfrontally with an extensive bacteriocyte zone (
Fig. 4E
). Labial palps small but projecting.
Specimens from abyssal depths in the Rockall Trough do not differ significantly from those from the Norwegian Sea except for a large shell that shows greater anterior expansion. The ctenidia of this specimen show the same laminar filaments with abfrontal extension. Specimens collected in the month of February were gravid, the suprabranchial chamber holding hundreds of sub-triangular larvae, on average
112 µm
in diameter.
There is no record of any association with an echinoid but these specimens originate from the same sampling programme reported upon by
Gage
et al.
(1985)
where they were attached to
Pourtalesia miranda
.
ASSOCIATION. Attached by byssus threads to the spines of
Pourtalesia jeffreysi
and
P. miranda
(
Fig. 9
).
Distribution
Confirmed from the NE Atlantic, Norwegian Sea to Bay of Biscay at depths from
800-3617 m
. Records (
Allen 2008
) from the NW and SW Atlantic have not been confirmed although one of the host species
P. miranda
has been recorded in these areas.
Pourtalesia jeffreysi
has two recognised subspecies with both hosting
Syssitomya
gen. nov.
:
Pourtalesia jeffreysi gibbosa
Mironov, 1995
has a bathyal range while the subspecies
lata
Mironov, 1995 is abyssal.
Fig. 9.
Pourtalesia miranda
Agassiz, 1869
with
Syssitomya pourtalesiana
sp. nov.
attached, from Biscay. Courtesy of A.J. & E.C. Southward.
The known geographic range for
P. jeffreysi
is the Norwegian Sea and Russian Arctic Ocean (WoRMS 2012).
Differential diagnosis
The shell characters of
Syssitomya
gen. nov.
are montacutid in all respects, notably the anterior expansion, internal ligament and the hinge reduced to a single cardinal peg in the right valve and a marginal flange in the left valve. In shell character, similarities are greatest with
Kelliola
but
Syssitomya
gen. nov.
, uniquely within the
Galeommatoidea
, has highly modified ctenidia with abfrontally extended, laminar filaments.
At the species level, for comparison with
Kelliola symmetros
see above. The somewhat inflated, anteriorly expanded form of
S. pourtalesiana
sp. nov.
is rather distinctive and not like the form of other deep-sea montacutids such as species of
Kurtiella
(
Gofas & Salas 2008
)
or
Epilepton
(
Allen 2007
)
that are more ovate, compressed and have different dentition patterns. From external appearances it more resembles some thyasirids notably
Thyasira subovata
(Jeffreys, 1881)
(see
Oliver
et al.
2012
) and if not found attached to its host could easily be mistaken for a thyasirid.