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Revision of Chilean bathyal chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) associated with cold-seeps, including description of a new species of Leptochiton (Leptochitonidae)

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Abstract

The chiton fauna of Chile comprises 41 species, most of which inhabit shallow waters. The present paper gives a summary of all 14 chiton species reported from Chilean deep (bathyal to abyssal) waters, including some records that might be considered as doubtful. Leptochiton laurae n. sp. is formally established; it was formerly misidentified as L. americanus Kaas & Van Belle, 1985, but differs in the shape of the tail valve, less coarse sculpturing, in the girdle elements and radula armature. Two additional new species, Leptochiton sp. and Placiphorella sp., are discussed. For Leptochiton medinae Plate, 1899, a lectotype is designated. Tripoplax balaenophila (Schwabe & Sellanes, 2004) n. comb. is transferred from Lepidozona Pilsbry, 1892, due to coarse sculpturing in the central areas and multi-slit insertion plates. Leptochiton belknapi Dall, 1878 and Tripoplax cowani Clark, 2008 are reported from the study region for the first time. The majority of the Chilean deep-water polyplacophorans are associated with hard substrates (authigenic carbonates) near methane seeps. The present report raises the global number of chiton species inhabiting chemosynthetic environments from 10 to 18, including some overlooked literature records from other regions.

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Abbreviations

CASIZ:

California Academy of Sciences, Invertebrate Zoology, San Francisco, USA.

CIEP:

Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia, Coyhaique, Chile.

CMSA:

Concepción Methane Seep Area.

FLMNH:

Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, USA.

JS:

second author’s reference collection.

MNHNCL:

Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago de Chile, Chile.

NHM:

National History Museum, London, United Kingdom.

spm(s):

specimen(s).

SIO:

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA.

UDEC:

Universidad de Concepción, Chile.

UF:

University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.

USNM:

United States National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA.

WAM:

Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Australia.

ZISP:

Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia.

ZMB:

Natural History Museum of Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

ZMO:

Zoologisk Museum, Oslo, Norway.

ZSM:

Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Munich, Germany.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are deeply indebted to the captains and crews of R/Vs Kay Kay, Sonne and Vidal Górmaz, as well as to scientific staff participating in these expeditions, for their support at sea. Special thanks go to Dr. Eduardo Quiroga (CIEP) and Dr. Victor A. Gallardo (UdeC). We thank Jerry Harasewych, Yolanda Villacampa (both USNM), Diego Urteaga (Argentina), and Roberto Portela Miguez (NHM) for providing images of type specimens. Amelia MacLellan (NHM) kindly supplied information on some type material. Julia Sigwart (Ireland) kindly provided literature and information on cold-seep communities. The first author thanks Boris Sirenko (ZISP) for fruitful discussions and his hospitality during a visit to St. Petersburg. We also thank Roger Clark (USA) for help with the identification of Tripoplax cowani. Michael Schrödl and Laura Würzberg (ZSM) are thanked for critical comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Douglas J. Eernisse (USA) and another anonymous reviewer kindly provided helpful comments and polished the English. This work was partially funded by FONDECYT project No. 1061217 to JS. Additional support from the Center of Oceanographic Research in the Eastern South Pacific (COPAS) of the University of Concepción is also acknowledged.

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Schwabe, E., Sellanes, J. Revision of Chilean bathyal chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) associated with cold-seeps, including description of a new species of Leptochiton (Leptochitonidae). Org Divers Evol 10, 31–55 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-009-0002-6

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