Paralomis verrilli

Martin, Joel W. & Haney, Todd A., 2005, Decapod crustaceans from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: a review through 2005, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145 (4), pp. 445-522 : 485-486

PARALOMIS VERRILLI ( BENEDICT, 1894)

Type locality: North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, off Pribilof Islands, Steamer Albatross sta. 3501; 1258 m (originally as 688 fathoms).

Known range: North-eastern Pacific, Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk to Cortez Bank, California; 1238– 2379 m ( Hart, 1982; Chevaldonné & Olu, 1996: 288).

Occurrence at vents or seeps: vents in the Mid-Okinawa Trough (see below).

Material: The type specimens are housed at the National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC) under the registration number USNM D-5685, according to Macpherson (2001: 802). Benedict (1894)

listed the types under the catalogue number USNM 18537 .

Remarks: Although Paralomis verrilli has been observed often at hydrothermal vent sites in the Mid- Okinawa Trough (e.g. photograph 1 of Ohta & Kim, 2001), we are not aware of any collections from these sites. This is supported by Chevaldonné & Olu’s (1996) observation that identification of the species observed at these sites is ‘still to be confirmed’ (suggesting specimens are not in hand). Chevaldonné & Olu (1996: 288) noted that its occurrence at such sites would not be surprising given its non-vent range and reported depths (‘ 1500–3500 m around Japan and from the Bering Sea to California’) ( Hart, 1982; Ohta, 1990a; Kim & Ohta, 1991; Hashimoto et al., 1995). However, the coloration of the species seen at the Mid-Okinawa Trough vent sites differs from the coloration seen at non-vent (cool water) populations ( T. Komai, pers. comm.), such that close examination of specimens from the Mid-Okinawa Trough vent site is needed before confirming this identity.

Remarks: According to Chevaldonné & Olu (1996), Paralomis verrilli is ‘believed to be the species found at hydrothermal vents of the Iheya Ridge, at 1400 m, in the Mid-Okinawa Trough’ (citing pers. comm. with S. Ohta as well as Ohta, 1990a; Kim & Ohta, 1991; Hashimoto et al., 1995).