New Deep-Sea Molluscan Records from Mallorca Channel Seamounts (North-Western Mediterranean)

• DOI: 10.3390/d14110928
• Publication Date: 2022-10-30T03:45:00Z
• Authors: Elena Marco-Herrero; Montserrat Ramón; Sergio Ramírez-Amaro; Olga Sánchez-Guil...; Francesc Ordines; Carmina López-Rod...; María Teresa Farr...; Juan Tomás Vázquez; Enric Massutí
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; QH301-705.5; Gastropoda; LEBA demarcation; Natura 2000 network; benthos; INTEMARES project; Seamounts; Biodiversity; Mediterranean; Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss; 01 natural sciences; Bivalvia; Benthos; benthos; biodiversity; Bivalvia; INTEMARES project; Gastropoda; LEBA demarcation; Mediterranean; Natura 2000 network; SCI; seamounts; SCI; 13. Climate action; http://metadata.un.org/sdg/14; 14. Life underwater; Biology (General); Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development; biodiversity

Seamounts are globally important and essential ecosystems for supporting and maintaining marine biodiversity. In the Mallorca Channel, three prominent seamounts are present: Ausias March, Ses Olives and Emile Baudot. Currently, this area is being evaluated for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. For this objective three surveys were conducted in the seamounts of the Mallorca Channel during July 2018 and July 2020. Samples of macro-invertebrates obtained in the deep sea revealed a rich fauna of Mollusca (68 species belonging to 40 families). New Mollusca occurrences included: four species of Gastropoda: Colus jeffreysianus, Cantrainea peloritana, Fusiturris similis, Gymnobela abyssorum, and seven species of Bivalvia: Pododesmus squama, Allogramma formosa, Asperarca nodulosa, Cetomya neaeroides, Spondylus gussonii, Haliris granulata and Policordia gemma. Where possible, the identification of these species was confirmed using the DNA barcoding method (sequencing of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I). This study contributes towards filling the gap in knowledge of deep-sea mollusc fauna of the north-western Mediterranean.