2004/05/25 by Philippe Bouchet, Yuri Kantor · 9 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Isotope Analysis in Ecology #Marine and fisheries research
paper · doi:10.1017/s1477200003001282
openalex publication_date 2004/05/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Recent deep‐sea explorations in the South Pacific have documented around New Caledonia the most diverse fauna of gastropods of the family Volutomitridae anywhere in the world. Fourteen species (nine new, two remaining unnamed) are recorded, all essentially confined to the 250–750 m depth range. The high number of species in the New Caledonia region does not appear to be an effect of sampling intensity, but appears to result from four factors: regional spatial heterogeneity, frequency of hard substrates, syntopy, and a historical heritage shared with Australia and New Zealand, which until now ranked as the major centre of volutomitrid diversity. In the New Caledonia region, volutomitrids show a marked preference for hard bottoms and up to three species may co‐occur in the same dredge haul. Many species appear to have extremely narrow geographical distributions within the region (e.g. a single seamount or a single submerged plateau); conversely, Microvoluta joloensis, the only non‐endemic volutomitrid present in New Caledonia, ranges from the Mozambique Channel to Tonga.