Deep sea molluscs of the western margin of the Great Bahama Bank: Systematics and zoogeography.

摘要

Seventy-four gastropod species from thirty-eight families are reported from the Straits of Florida in depths of 400-600 meters or more. Each taxon is fully described and illustrated with photographs, synonymies and distributions are given. Two undescribed taxa are recognized: Hesperato sp., and Scaphella sp.; Architectonica sunderlandi Petuch, 1987, Bursa finlayi McGinty, 1962, and Acteon danaida Dall, 1881 are reported from the Great Bahama Bank for the first time and Pisanianura grimaldii Dautzenberg, 1889 is reported in the western Atlantic Ocean for the first time. The bathymetry and benthic environments of the study locality on the north-western margin of the Great Bahama Bank are discussed. A zoogeographic analysis indicates that the gastropod fauna in the vicinity of Victory Cay, Bimini Chain, Bahamas has a strong tropical affinity with a moderate influence from the temperate waters to the north.