AUTHOR=Romano Chiara , Nunes-Jorge Amandine , Le Bris Nadine , Rouse Greg W. , Martin Daniel , Borowski Christian 

TITLE=Wooden Stepping Stones: Diversity and Biogeography of Deep-Sea Wood Boring Xylophagaidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean, With the Description of a New Genus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.579959

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2020.579959

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>Wood boring bivalves of the family Xylophagaidae inhabit sunken wood on the deep-sea floor where they play a key role in the degradation of this organic matter in the ocean. The patchiness of wood-fall habitats is impeding targeted sampling and little is therefore known on xylophagaid biology. We investigated for the first time the diversity and biogeography of Xylophagaidae in the NE-Atlantic and the Mediterranean over a broad geographic range and in various water depths using experimental wood deployments. We combined morphological and molecular analyses for species discrimination. A phylogenetic reconstruction based on 18S and 28S rRNA and COI genes revealed non-monophyly of the type genus, <italic>Xylophaga</italic><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B104">Turton (1822)</xref>, and led us to revise the taxonomy and erect the genus <italic>Xylonora</italic> gen. nov. COI haplotypes of the most abundant species revealed broad Atlanto-Mediterranean genetic connectivity for <italic>Xylophaga dorsalis</italic> and <italic>Xylonora atlantica</italic> new comb., while genetic connectivity appears limited for <italic>Abditoconus brava</italic> across the entrance of the Mediterranean. We provide the first COI barcode data for Xylophagaidae as a solid base for future taxonomic work. Wood deployments in a broad geographic range provided a powerful tool for research on Xylophagaidae allowing for conclusions on ecological requirements of xylophagaid species.</p>