Description of Aega sarsae sp. nov. and redescription of Syscenusatlanticus Kononenko, 1988 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Aegidae) from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Abstract

Isopoda examined were collected at the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge with a bottom trawl in July 2004 in the framework of the MAR-ECO project. Aega sarsae sp. nov. is described from the material. As the recent redescription of Syscenus atlanticus Kononenko, 1988 did not allow an accurate identification, this species was re-examined, fully illustrated and redescribed. The additional material of the samples was only identified to genus and species level.

Keywords:

• Aega sarsae
• Isopoda
• new species
• northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
• Syscenus
• taxonomy

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the crew of G.O. Sars for help and the MAR-ECO team, especially, Dr Tone Falkenhaug and Dr Odd Aksel Bergstad for the material as well as for student grant for a small workshop. The systematics and taxonomy of parasitic aegids were topics during the course ‘Taxonomie: Von der Determination bis zur Publikation am Beispiel der Crustacea (Schwerpunkt Peracarida)’ held by Prof. A. Brandt and Dr H.G. Andres during the winter term 2005/06 at the University of Hamburg, Biozentrum Grindel and Zoologisches Museum. The illustrations were partly done in collaboration with the graduate students Maria Bütterich, Jana Gaycken, Manija Ghulam, Michael Mende, Nina Moniac, Rainer Neumann, Minetta Wunderskirchner and Anna Zickert. We are especially grateful to Antje Fischer and Lydia Kramer for help with the drawings and inking of all figures. We are very grateful to B. Mezhov, Zoological Museum of Moscow, M. Schotte, Smithsonian Museum and to Dr J. Olesen, Zoological Museum of Copenhagen, as well as Dr Å. Wilhelmsen, Zoological Museum of Oslo for the loan of the type material from their museums. This work was an element of MAR-ECO, a field project under the Census of Marine Life programme.

Notes

Published in collaboration with the University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Denmark