First Record of the Genus Tiburnella Thomas & Barnard, 1983 (Amphipoda, Platyischnopidae) from the Deep-Sea Gulf of Mexico, with the Description of a New Species

Abstract

Platyischopidae Barnard & Drummond, 1979 represents an amphipod family with 10 genera and 18 species documented as benthic organisms inhabiting from shallow to deep–sea ecosystems worldwide. During 1965, the oceanographic expedition Kovaliewsky— Academic—RV was carried out in the southern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Straits of Florida, and SW—NE Cuba. Several shallow and deep—sea benthic samples were collected from soft bottoms. From1966 through 2000, a few manuscripts were published regarding benthic invertebrates collected from this expedition, however, other data remain unreported. The present work describes and illustrates in detail a new deep water platyischnopid amphipod species of the genus Tiburonella Thomas & Barnard, 1983, collected from bathyal soft bottoms of the Bay of Campeche, GOM at 2,321 m. Additionally, a dichotomous key for identification of the only 3 known Tiburonella species worldwide is provided.