Diversification dynamics of a common deep-sea octocoral family linked to the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum.

The deep-sea has experienced dramatic changes in physical and chemical variables in the geological past. However, little is known about how deep-sea species richness responded to such changes over time and space. Here, we studied the diversification dynamics of one of the most diverse octocorallian families inhabiting deep sea benthonic environments worldwide and sustaining highly diverse ecosystems, Primnoidae.

Erratum: A new enigmatic Late Miocene mylodontoid sloth from northern South America.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.140256.

A new enigmatic Late Miocene mylodontoid sloth from northern South America.

A new genus and species of sloth (Eionaletherium tanycnemius gen. et sp. nov.

[Sponges (porifera) distribution along a depth gradient in a coral reef, Parque Nacional San Esteban, Carabobo, Venezuela].

Sponges constitute one of the most diverse and abundant animal groups in the marine tropical benthos especially in coral reefs, though poorly studied to species level. The aim of this study is to characterize the sponge community along a depth gradient at Isla Larga (Parque Nacional San Esteban, Venezuela) fringe reef. Net and total sedimentation, roughness index, sponge species richness, density and proportion of the bottom covered by sponges, were evaluated at seven depths (1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 m), 17 species were identified grouped in 10 demosponges families.