First in Situ Observations of Behavior in Deep-Sea Tanaidacean Crustaceans.
We report on the behavior of a deep-sea tanaidacean, Gigantapseudes sp. (Apseudomorpha: Gigantapseudidae), recorded at the depths of 6446-6447 m by the manned submersible Shinkai 6500. From recordings of at least three individuals walking on the sea floor, we confirm that Gigantapseudes sp. is epibenthic, as previously inferred from leg shape. One individual was recorded entering a hole. All individuals in the videos kept pereopods 4 raised from the seafloor while walking, implying that those legs have a function other than for walking, such as mechano- or chemoreception, or posture control. Our in situ observations of behavior are the first for any deep-sea tanaidacean and illustrate the importance of recording high-resolution videos in the deep sea and archiving them for future use. Our identification of Gigantapseudes sp. from video footage provides the first record of this genus from Japanese waters and extends the northern limit of the known generic distribution.
['Kakui|Keiichi|K|', 'Fujiwara|Yoshihiro|Y|']
D000818:Animals D001522:Behavior, Animal D003445:Crustacea D005121:Extremities D009043:Motor Activity D010140:Pacific Ocean D014741:Video Recording
deep sea Crustacea Japan Malacostraca Nansei-Shoto Trench Peracarida Tanaidacea hadal zone