Benthodytes lingua Perrier 1896

Benthodytes lingua Perrier, 1896b Reports for the Azores:

Pannychia glutinosa $ Hérouard, 1902: 32, pl. 4, fig. 17; Perrier 1902: 286, 373; Mortensen 1927a: 360; García-Diez et al. 2005: 52;

Benthodytes lingua Perrier, 1896 b—Deichmann 1930: 124–125; Hansen 1975: 80–82, fig. 29, pl. 9, figs. 3–5, pl. 12, figs. 2–3; Pérez-Ruzafa et al. 1992a: 172, fig. 1H; $ Gebruk 2008: 51.

Type locality: off Morocco (30°08’00”N, 11°40’46”W).

See: Perrier (1896b: 302; 1902: 456–461, pl. 12, figs. 1–2, pl. 21, figs. 1–9); Hansen (1975); Rogacheva et al. (2013: 599, fig. 18B).

Occurrence: Atlantic; in the west from off the coast of New England to the Gulf of Mexico (Deichmann 1954), eastwards from Greenland (Heding 1942) and along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (Rogacheva et al. 2013), and from the Rockall Trough (Gage et al. 1985) to South Africa (Hansen 1975), including the Azores (Hérouard 1902) and Canaries (Perrier 1902).

Depth: 860– 4,700 m (Rogacheva et al. 2013); AZO: 2,102 –3,050 m (Hérouard 1902, Gebruk 2008).

Habitat: benthopelagic; soft sediments, fine sand, clay, mud to ooze (Hérouard 1902, Perrier 1902, Rogacheva et al. 2013).

Remarks: Hérouard (1902) described a new species, Pannychia glutinosa, based on a specimen of about 60 mm, collected by Princesse Alice in the Azores (sta 624: 38°59’00”N, 28°18’05”W, 2,102 m). Later, Deichmann (1930) assumed that Hérouard’ specimen was a juvenile of B. lingua and synonymised the two species, an opinion shared by later authors. Recently, Gebruk et al. (2008) identified animals belonging to B. lingua in waters north of the islands (G.O. Sars, MAR–ECO cruise, sta 40/367: 42°55’N, 30°20’W, 2,954 –2,968 m; sta 46/372: 42°46’N, 29°16’W, 3,005 –3,050 m) substantiating the presence of this species in the archipelago.