On the presence of the deep-sea blind lobster Stereomastis suhmi (Decapoda: Polychelidae) in Southwestern Atlantic waters and its circum-Antarctic distribution

FARIAS NAHUEL; OCAMPO EMILIANO; LUPPI TOMAS

NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

RSNZ PUBLISHING

Lugar: Auckland; Año: 2015 vol. 42 p. 119 - 125

0301-4223

Here we report on the presence of the deep-sea blind lobster Stereomastis suhmi in the SouthwesternAtlantic. The species identification was based on morphological traits and confirmed with geneticbarcoding. The specimen analysed shows little difference from previous descriptions. This work extendsthe range of S. suhmi in America, where it was previously limited to the Pacific coasts off Chile, to themouth of the Rio de la Plata, Argentina, and confirms its circumpolar presence with molecular data.A review of all available records shows that the overall distribution of the species is well correlated withthe presence of Antarctic Intermediate Waters suggesting that the species habitat is restricted to cold andrelatively low-salinity/oxygen-rich waters.