New records and species of deep-sea squat lobsters (Galatheoidea, Munidopsidae) from the Hawaiian Archipelago: an integrative approach using micro-CT and barcodes

PeerJ. 2023 Mar 8:11:e14956. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14956. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The Hawaiian Archipelago remains extensively under-sampled for many marine invertebrate taxa, including squat lobsters. During the last few years, several deep-sea expeditions carried out in the Pacific Ocean have conducted opportunistic collections of specimens and image data from the vicinity of Hawai'i. Here we describe a new species: Munidopsis hawaii sp. nov. and provide new records for Munidopsidae in the Archipelago and its associations. We illustrate and describe the new species using an integrative approach including micro-CT 3D imaging. Phylogenetic analyses of the species collected from seamounts from Hawai'i indicate that the new species represents a divergent lineage compared to morphologically similar species such as M. dispar and M. papanui. We also study the genetic distances for the species recorded in Hawai'i and other populations of the same species in the adjacent West Pacific. Three species are now known in the Hawaiian region. We also compiled identifications from images captured with ROVs in the area. These observations suggest that munidopsid species are common in the deep sea of Hawaiian waters below 1,000 m.

Keywords: 3D imaging; Anomura; Crustaceans; Molecular taxonomy; Morphology; Phylogenetics; Systematics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anomura* / anatomy & histology
  • Hawaii
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Phylogeny
  • X-Ray Microtomography

Grants and funding

Paula C Rodríguez Flores is funded by a Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship at the MCZ, Harvard University. Kareen E Schnabel was funded by NIWA under Coasts and Oceans Research Programme 2 Marine Biological Resources: discovery and definition of the marine biota of New Zealand (2021–2022 SCI). The funding for this project was obtained through the Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship program. Deep-sea cruises and specimen collection were funded by the Ocean Exploration Trust. The publication fee for this article was covered by a grant from the Wetmore Colles Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.