Range extension and first record of the deep-sea brittle star Ophiactis abyssicola (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) in Canadian waters

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Hamel, Jean-François, Stöhr, Sabine, Côté, David, Casey, Kaitlin, Penney, Heather D., Neves, Bárbara de Moura, Mercier, Annie
• Other Authors: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2021
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Newfoundland; Canada; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s002531542200011x; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S002531542200011X

Abstract This paper presents the first records of the brittle star Ophiactis abyssicola in Canadian waters and range extensions of up to 1900 km in the Northwest Atlantic from previously known locations. Samples were collected off northern Labrador and the northern portion of insular Newfoundland (eastern Canada) at 433 and 1097 m depths, respectively. This newly recorded species of brittle star from the bathyal zone off Newfoundland and Labrador adds to the marine biodiversity of Canada and to the general distribution knowledge of O. abyssicola .