Table_1_A first look at the biodiversity of Loricifera in the southern Gulf of Mexico.docx

Loricifera is a group of marine, meiobenthic invertebrates of microscopic size that are found worldwide. The Loriciferan fauna of the Southern Gulf of Mexico (SGM) remains unknown. In the present study we report on the first exploration of the Loriciferans from the SGM, which is a strategic area for oil exploitation. The Loriciferan specimens were collected during deep-sea cruises XIXIMI-4 (August-September 2015) and XIXIMI-6 (August 2017), in which six out of 22 stations yielded specimens of Loricifera. A total of six specimens were found (although one of them was lost), namely two adults and four larval stages. Preliminary analyses based on the peculiarity of their morphological features indicate that the specimens include representatives of new species of Pliciloricus and Rugiloricus, an undescribed genus of Pliciloricidae and, possibly, an undescribed genus of Nanaloricidae. None of the specimens found could be assigned to previously described species. Since all specimens are either intermediate life cycle stages or poorly preserved, only a short description based on their morphological traits is provided here. Our findings are discussed from a comparative perspective with known Loriciferan species.

铠甲动物门（Loricifera）是一类全球分布的微型海洋小型底栖无脊椎动物。墨西哥湾南部（SGM）的铠甲动物区系迄今仍属未知。本研究首次报道了该油气开发战略海域的铠甲动物类群调查成果。研究标本采集自2015年8-9月的深海科考航次XIXIMI-4与2017年8月的XIXIMI-6，在22个调查站位中共有6个站位采集到铠甲动物标本。本次研究共获6头标本（其中1头遗失），包括2头成体及4个幼体阶段。基于其形态特征的初步分析显示，本次采集的标本涵盖褶铠甲虫属（Pliciloricus）、粗铠甲虫属（Rugiloricus）的新物种代表，1个未描述的褶铠甲科（Pliciloricidae）新属，以及极有可能属于异铠甲科（Nanaloricidae）的1个未描述新属。所有已发现的标本均无法归入已发表的已知物种。由于所有标本均处于生活史中间阶段或保存状态欠佳，本文仅基于其形态特征提供简要描述。本研究结果结合已知铠甲动物物种开展了比较性讨论。