An unusual new species of Oenonidae (Polychaeta, Eunicida) from the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

A new species of Tainokia (family Oenonidae) is described from the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic). Tainokia logachevae sp. nov. was retrieved from a dredge sample across the crater of Mercator mud volcano at 375–397 m depths. It is characterized by having H-shaped mandibulae with distal bidentate accessory pieces, maxillae I and II dentate along the entire margin and greatly asymmetric, with 6 or 10 teeth, and maxillae III, IV, and V with 5/6, 4/5, and 1 teeth, respectively. DNA fragments from the mitochondrial genes COI and 16S rDNA, and the nuclear genes 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA are given, providing a molecular tag for future reference of this species. This is the first report of the genus for both the deep sea and for the Atlantic Ocean.