First finding of the neustonic barnacle Lepas pectinata and nudibranch Fiona pinnata in the deep sea

摘要

In May 2010, 702 individuals of the pedunculate barnacle Lepas pectinata and an individual of the nudibranch Fiona pinnata were found alive, attached to the brown alga Sargassum homeri near a whale carcass at a depth of 246 m off Cape Nomamisaki, Kyushu, Japan. Many large individuals of L. pectinata were brooding their embryos, but no egg masses of F. pinnata were found. This represents the first detailed reports of living neuston in the deep sea.