Meeting Abstract
The family Dorvilleidae is a well-represented group among annelids associated with chemosynthetic habitats. Seven new Parougia species are recognized here from collections at Pacific Ocean whale-falls, hydrothermal vents, and methane seeps. The specimens were studied using morphology and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Currently, there are 11 described Parougia species, of which two are associated with vents or seeps: Parougia wolfi and Parougia oregonensis. Parougia oregonensis has previously been recovered as three separate clades based on DNA data. New collections and analysis allow the designation of one of these clades as P. oregonensis, with the others as new species. An additional two sympatric sister clades of Parougia, also from Oregon, correspond to new species with one widely distributed extending to seeps in Costa Rica. This study also identifies a new West Pacific species sister to the clade that includes P. oregonensis and its sibling species. Another new Parougia species from the Eastern Pacific margin is sister to P. wolfi and these species form a clade that include a further new Parougia and previously described Parougia bermudensis known from shallow-water woodfalls in the North Atlantic. Several of the new Parougia species and previously described species are broadly distributed and capable of inhabiting different chemosynthetic habitats. The dorvilleid genus, Ophryotrocha has been highlighted as diversifying in the deep-sea environment. Our results emphasize the hitherto unknown diversity of other taxa such as Parougia in these chemosynthetic systems.
