Abstract
Sea anemones sensu lato (members of cnidarian orders Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia) occurring in water of thenortheastern Pacific Ocean greater than 1,000 m (to the abyssal plain) are poorly known. Based on the literature andspecimens we examined in the four largest collections of animals from this area, we estimate that approximately 35 speciesoccur in these deep-water habitats and fewer than half have been documented there. Of the largest and most abundantepibenthic species, based on morphology, we identified two species of Corallimorpharia (both previously known) and 12of Actiniaria (three new). Half the sea anemone species are widely distributed: Actinauge verrillii McMurrich, 1893,Actinoscyphia groendyki n. sp., Actinostola faeculenta (McMurrich, 1893), Bathyphellia australis Dunn, 1983, Liponemabrevicorne (McMurrich, 1893), Metridium farcimen (Brandt, 1835), and Monactis vestita (Gravier, 1918). The others areknown only from the northeastern Pacific Ocean: Corallimorphus pilatus Fautin, White, and Pearson, 2002,Corallimorphus denhartogi Fautin, White, and Pearson, 2002, Anthosactis nomados White, Wakefield Pagels, and Fautin,1999, Bolocera kensmithi n. sp., Paraphelliactis pabista Dunn, 1982, Sagartiogeton californicus (Carlgren, 1940) (forwhich we designate a neotype), and Sicyonis careyi n. sp. A naturally occurring oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) off Oregonis expanding, and the marine life living within its virtually anoxic areas is threatened. Nine of the species we examined occur within the current depth range of the OMZ and may be threatened if the OMZ continues to strengthen and expand.References
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