Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone

Abstract In an era where human activities increasingly impact the deep sea and, with future ventures such as deep-sea mining on the horizon, describing deep-sea biodiversity is vital for conservation, sustainable resource management, understanding global ecological processes, and informing policy de...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Magdalini Christodoulou, Christopher Mah, Pedro Martinez Arbizu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00753-5
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850268805157093376
author Magdalini Christodoulou
Christopher Mah
Pedro Martinez Arbizu
author_facet Magdalini Christodoulou
Christopher Mah
Pedro Martinez Arbizu
author_sort Magdalini Christodoulou
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In an era where human activities increasingly impact the deep sea and, with future ventures such as deep-sea mining on the horizon, describing deep-sea biodiversity is vital for conservation, sustainable resource management, understanding global ecological processes, and informing policy decisions. Polymetallic nodule fields, in particular, have been proven to be reservoirs of previously undiscovered biodiversity. As part of ongoing efforts to unveil this dark diversity, two new species of Caymanostella −Caymanostella persephone nov. sp. and Caymanostella hades nov. sp.,− recovered on a single piece of sunken wood in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, a region in the eastern Pacific Ocean targeted for mining, are described herein. Although both species were sampled on the same piece of wood, they are genetically distinct and can be differentiated from each other and their congeners morphologically by various morphological characters, including the arrangement of the central plates, the position of gonopores, and the form of their abactinal armaments. The discovery of the new species brings the total number within the Caymanostella genus to ten and expands the known geographical distribution of the genus.
format Article
id doaj-art-0f1ffc2e5cac4a4dbbc216a8bb29a8f4
institution OA Journals
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-0f1ffc2e5cac4a4dbbc216a8bb29a8f42025-08-20T01:53:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-00753-5Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture ZoneMagdalini Christodoulou0Christopher Mah1Pedro Martinez Arbizu2Biodiversity Center Upper Austria, OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbHDepartment of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian InstitutionSenckenberg am Meer, German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB)Abstract In an era where human activities increasingly impact the deep sea and, with future ventures such as deep-sea mining on the horizon, describing deep-sea biodiversity is vital for conservation, sustainable resource management, understanding global ecological processes, and informing policy decisions. Polymetallic nodule fields, in particular, have been proven to be reservoirs of previously undiscovered biodiversity. As part of ongoing efforts to unveil this dark diversity, two new species of Caymanostella −Caymanostella persephone nov. sp. and Caymanostella hades nov. sp.,− recovered on a single piece of sunken wood in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone, a region in the eastern Pacific Ocean targeted for mining, are described herein. Although both species were sampled on the same piece of wood, they are genetically distinct and can be differentiated from each other and their congeners morphologically by various morphological characters, including the arrangement of the central plates, the position of gonopores, and the form of their abactinal armaments. The discovery of the new species brings the total number within the Caymanostella genus to ten and expands the known geographical distribution of the genus.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00753-5Sea starsMiningPolymetallic nodule fieldsDeep seaEchinodermata
spellingShingle Magdalini Christodoulou
Christopher Mah
Pedro Martinez Arbizu
Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone
Scientific Reports
Sea stars
Mining
Polymetallic nodule fields
Deep sea
Echinodermata
title Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone
title_full Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone
title_fullStr Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone
title_full_unstemmed Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone
title_short Two new Caymanostella species discovered at deep-sea wood falls in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone
title_sort two new caymanostella species discovered at deep sea wood falls in the clarion clipperton fracture zone
topic Sea stars
Mining
Polymetallic nodule fields
Deep sea
Echinodermata
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00753-5
work_keys_str_mv AT magdalinichristodoulou twonewcaymanostellaspeciesdiscoveredatdeepseawoodfallsintheclarionclippertonfracturezone
AT christophermah twonewcaymanostellaspeciesdiscoveredatdeepseawoodfallsintheclarionclippertonfracturezone
AT pedromartinezarbizu twonewcaymanostellaspeciesdiscoveredatdeepseawoodfallsintheclarionclippertonfracturezone