Recent Brachiopoda from the Norfolk Ridge, New Caledonia, with description of four new species

Abstract

Twenty-two brachiopod species belonging to 19 genera have been recognized in the material collected during two cruises, Norfolk 1 and Norfolk 2, to the Norfolk Ridge south of New Caledonia, at depths of 180 to 1150 m. Thirteen species are reported for the first time from this locality, while four genera, Aulites, Septicollarina, Annuloplatidia and Campages, are noted for the first time from the New Caledonian region. Thecidellina minuta is recorded for the first time from the Pacific. Four new species are described ― Cryptopora norfolkensis sp. nov., Aulites crosnieri sp. nov., Septicollarina zezinae sp. nov. and Annuloplatidia richeri sp. nov. The distribution of the particular species and their abundance vary considerably between the 15 sampled seamounts, with Stenosarina crosnieri and Fallax neocaledonensis being most widely distributed, and the seamount Crypthelia having the highest biodiversity. The seamount brachiopods show considerable affinity to the brachiopods of adjacent regions, and only three species ― C. norfolkensis, A. crosnieri and A. richeri ― can be regarded as potential endemics. The brachiopod fauna is more similar to that in the area around Fiji than to that around Australasia.