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

Abstract

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.