A new phaeodarian species, characterized by the presence of long developed side branches recurved proximally and distally on the surface of its radial tube, was described as Auloscena pleuroclada. This new species was only collected from the layers below the 250 m depth in the Sea of Japan. They have never been found in the shallower layers (above 250 m) of this sea or in other investigated areas. The distribution of the present new species is presumably restricted within the deep water of this area, and this species could be a specific phaeodarian adapted to the deep-sea environment.
Keywords: Cercozoa; Sea of Japan; deep-sea adaptation; protist; zooplankton.
© 2015 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2015 International Society of Protistologists.