Phylogenetics of Lepidonotopodini (Macellicephalinae, Polynoidae, Annelida) and Comparative Mitogenomics of Shallow-Water vs. Deep-Sea Scaleworms (Aphroditiformia).

Within Polynoidae, a diverse aphroditiform family, the subfamily Macellicephalinae comprises anchialine cave-dwelling and deep-sea scaleworms. In this study, Lepidonotopodinae is synonymized with Macellicephalinae, and the tribe Lepidonotopodini is applied to a well-supported clade inhabiting deep-sea chemosynthetic-based ecosystems. Newly sequenced "genome skimming" data for 30 deep-sea polynoids and the comparatively shallow living is used to bioinformatically assemble their mitogenomes.

New Species of Osedax (Siboglinidae: Annelida) from New Zealand and the Gulf of Mexico.

Osedax is now known to be distributed around the world with more than 30 named and undescribed species. Here we report the discovery of four new species from two localities: Osedax bozoi n. sp.

The mitochondrial genome of the deep-sea pyramid urchin (Echinoidea: Holasteroida: Pourtalesiidae).

We present the mitochondrial genome of the deep-sea, epibenthic, irregular echinoid , representing the first sequenced mitogenome of the order Holasteroida. The length of the complete mitochondrial genome is 15,716 base pairs, and its GC content is 34.87%.

A remarkable new deep-sea nereidid (Annelida: Nereididae) with gills.

Nereidid polychaetes are well known from shallow marine habitats, but their diversity in the deep sea is poorly known. Here we describe an unusual new nereidid species found at methane seeps off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Specimens of Pectinereis strickrotti gen.

The mitochondrial genome of the deep-sea axiid shrimp, (Decapoda: Axiidae).

Here, we present the first mitochondrial genome of . The mitogenome contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes, and 22 tRNA genes. The total length of the complete mitochondrial genome is 16,212 base pairs, and the GC content is 26.

Phylogenomic analyses of echinoid diversification prompt a re-evaluation of their fossil record.

Echinoids are key components of modern marine ecosystems. Despite a remarkable fossil record, the emergence of their crown group is documented by few specimens of unclear affinities, rendering their early history uncertain. The origin of sand dollars, one of its most distinctive clades, is also unclear due to an unstable phylogenetic context.