A new species of Bathyeliasona (Annelida, Polynoidae) from the abyssal plain of the eastern Indian Ocean

A new species of deep-sea polynoid, Bathyeliasona oceanxplorer sp. nov., is described from the abyssal plain located in international waters between Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean from a single specimen collected at a depth of 4977 m. The new species is characterised using morphology and molecular data from four genetic markers (COI, 16 S rRNA, 18 S rRNA, and 28 S rRNA). Bathyeliasona oceanxplorer sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters, including the possession of 18 segments, slender frontal filaments, the presence of a buccal bulb, and ventral pygidial lobes with weakly undulate margins.

This is the first species of Bathyeliasona for which the elytra are described and illustrated. This finding highlights the great value of ROV - based sampling for recovering comparatively intact deep-sea polynoid specimen with most delicate features preserved.