A new bathyal amphipod from the Bay of Biscay: Carangolia barnardi sp. nov. (Gammaridea: Urothoidae)

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Jaume, D., Sorbe, J.-C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2001
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Austral; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315401003393; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315401003393

A new species of the cold-temperate austral amphipod genus Carangolia (Gammaridea: Urothoidae) is described from bathyal depths of the Bay of Biscay (north-east Atlantic). It was occasionally sampled in the south-eastern part of the Bay with sledges towed over muddy bottoms between 522 and 924 m water depth. This depth range falls mainly below the mud-line where the proportion of organic carbon increases in response to the deposition of silts and/or clay sediment. Most specimens were sampled by the lower net of the sledges, indicating a close association with the bottom. Abundance was relatively low, ranging between 0·18 and 4·90 ind 100 m −2 , latter recorded below 700 m depth. The unusual massive appearance of Carangolia mandibles and its preference for bathyal foraminiferal oozes suggest that it is a specialized foraminifer consumer. The antitropical distribution pattern currently displayed by the genus could be an artefact due to equatorial submergence.