Taxonomy and species distribution of the genus Manganonema Bussau, 1993 (Nematoda: Monhysterida)

• Main Authors: Fonseca, G., Decraemer, W., Vanreusel, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Biogeography; Deep water; Identification keys; Species diversity; Manganonema Bussau; Xyalidae; ASW; Brazil; ISW; Indian Ocean; West; Kenya; PS; Southern Ocean; PSW; Antarctica; Antarctic; Indian; Antarc*; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/289384.pdf

Different deep-sea sites are frequently characterized by a high number of species belonging to the same genus. In addition, some deep-sea genera (e.g. Acantholaimus, Monhystera, Halalaimus ) seem to be dominant and present world­wide. The genus Manganonema is present in all oceans in low to medium densities « 2%) and, apparently, restricted to the deep sea (600 m and deeper). The present study deals with a revision of the genus Manganonema based upon known species and nine new species, where only 5 were named due to the lack of males ( M. media sp. nov., M. pitilica sp. nov., M. robus­tus sp. nov., M. antarctica sp. nov., M. bussauensis sp. nov.). For the species identification, important characters are sum­marized in a pictorial key. The material studied was collected from six different sites: two in the North Atlantic (Europe), two in the Southern Ocean (Antarctic), one in the South-western Atlantic (Brazil), and one in Western Indian Ocean (Kenya). The species distribution suggests a high turnover of species between sites. Only one Manganonema species is recorded from two different sites in the Atlantic Ocean. These results suggest a high degree of endemism of species within the genus.