A new species of Dondersiidae (Mollusca, Solenogastres) associated with a hydroid, with insights into the trophic ecology of Solenogastres

2026/03/20 by M. Carmen Cobo, António Carlos Marques, Sarah M. Tweedt +1 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine Ecology and Invasive Species #Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/zse.102.172590

openalex created_date 2026/03/20 · openalex publication_date 2026/03/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02

Abstract

We describe a new species of Solenogastres in the family Dondersiidae, Nematomenia quattriniae sp. nov ., using an integrative taxonomic approach. The species is characterized by a slender, light-yellow body with a scaly appearance and dorsal keel, prominent anterior pedal glands, a dorsal foregut gland, a single dorso-terminal sensory organ, and the presence of seminal receptacles and seminal vesicles. Specimens were collected from a bathyal site (581 m depth) on the continental slope off Louisiana (USA) associated with the hydrozoan Acryptolaria abies (Allman, 1877), which displayed signs of an active defense response. This study sheds light on the trophic ecology of solenogasters and highlights the continued discovery of novel biodiversity and predator-prey interactions in deep-sea ecosystems.

Citations

• MAFFT Multiple Sequence Alignment Software Version 7: Improvements in Performance and Usability
• IQ-TREE 2: New Models and Efficient Methods for Phylogenetic Inference in the Genomic Era
• Distribution patterns of deep-sea molluscs from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Trench
• UFBoot2: Improving the Ultrafast Bootstrap Approximation

Cited by

• Fifty shades of a “glistenworm”: a new Brazilian Caudofoveata (Mollusca), with a brief review of the genus Falcidens Salvini-Plawen, 1968 (Chaetodermatidae)

Discussions

• A new worm-like mollusc has been described from Louisiana, characterised by a slender, light-yellow body and scaly appearance. This study sheds light on the trophic ecology of these molluscs, as well [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]

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