Benthic megafauna of the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean Author Bribiesca-Contreras, Guadalupe https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8163-8724 Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, UK l.bribiesca-contreras@nhm.ac.uk Author Dahlgren, Thomas G. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6854-2031 Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden & Norwegian Research Centre, NORCE, Bergen, Norway Author Amon, Diva J. SpeSeas, D'Abadie, Trinidad and Tobago Author Cairns, Stephen https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7209-9271 Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., USA Author Drennan, Regan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0137-5464 National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK Author Durden, Jennifer M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6529-9109 UMR ISYEB, Department Origines et Evolution, Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France Author Eleaume, Marc P. Collections & Research, Western Australia Museum, Perth, Australia Author Hosie, Andrew M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5683-662X Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Author Kremenetskaia, Antonina https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8851-3318 School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK Author McQuaid, Kirsty https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0395-8332 Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Australia Author O'Hara, Timothy D. Department of Oceanography, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, USA Author Rabone, Muriel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8351-2313 National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK Author Simon-Lledo, Erik UMR ISYEB, Department Origines et Evolution, Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France Author Smith, Craig R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3976-0889 School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, USA Author Watling, Les https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6901-1168 School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, USA Author Wiklund, Helena https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8252-3504 Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden Author Glover, Adrian G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9489-074X National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK text ZooKeys 2022 2022-07-18 1113 1 110 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1113.82172 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1113.82172 1313-2970-1113-1 EB46BF265F2E51B3A83799886C5F084A Docosaccus sp. CCZ_021 Fig. 58 Material. Clarion-Clipperton Zone • 1 specimen ; APEI 7; 5.1043°N , 141.8867°W ; 4860 m deep; 25 May. 2018 ; Smith & Durden leg.; GenBank : ON400684 (COI), ON406635 (18S), ON406612 (16S), ON406598 (28S), ON411255 (ALG11); NHMUK 2022.6; Voucher code: CCZ_021 . Description. Single specimen; lophophytous sponge. Plate-like, flat, subcircular body; 8.7 cm at its longest axis, 1 mm thick (Fig. 58A ). Colouration is yellowish. Atrial surface facing up (Fig. 58C ), and dermal surface almost in contact with the seafloor, with basalia protruding from it and anchoring it to the sediment (Fig. 58B ). Figure 58. Docosaccus sp. CCZ_021 A in situ image B dermal surface C and atrial surface. Scale bars: 1 cm ( A, B, C ). Image attribution: Durden and Smith ( A ); Wiklund, Durden, Drennan, and McQuaid ( B, C ). Remarks. External morphological characters are concordant with the description of D. maculatus ( Kahn et al. 2013 ). However, sequences for the 16S and COI genes from the holotype are 2.4% and 3.9% divergent (K2P distance), respectively, from the western CCZ specimen. Sequences from 18S and 28S do not match to sequences from D. maculatus . The species was described from Station M, off California, in the Pacific Ocean at depths of 3,953-4,000 m, but the genus was originally thought to be restricted to Antarctica ( Kahn et al. 2013 ). This species has been recorded in the CCZ, in the eastern IFREMER contract area and in APEI 3, from 4905-4998 m depth ( Kersken et al. 2019 ). The specimen collected in the western CCZ differs from the holotype of D. maculatus in having more parietal oscula, and is smaller, and therefore considered a different species. External morphological characters also differ from the other species reported for the CCZ, D. nidulus Kersken, Janussen & Martinez Arbizu, 2019. Ecology. This specimen was found anchored to abyssal sediments of APEI 7 at 4860 m depth. Comparison with image-based catalogue. A very similar Docosaccus sp. morphotype (i.e., Docosaccus maculatus sp. inc., HEX_015) has been very frequently encountered in seabed image surveys conducted across nodule fields areas of the eastern CCZ and in abyssal areas of the Kiribati EEZ.