Orchomene distinctus Birstein & Vinogradov, 1960: 191, fig. 10.
Orchomene (Abyssorchomene) distinctus.— Barnard & Ingram, 1990: 22, figs 12–14.— Vinogradov, 1993: 43.
Abyssorchomene distinctus.—? Thurston, 1990: 264 (ecology).— Lowry & Stoddart 2003: 281.— Jamieson, Kilgallen, Rowden, Fujii, Lorz, Kitazawa & Priede, 2011: 55, table 3, 58, table 6 (ecology).—Horton, Thurston & Duffy, 2013: 355, table 2 (ecology).
Orchomene distinctus.— Barnard & Karaman, 1991: 508.
Orchomenella distinctus.— Lowry & Stoddart 1994: 181.
Types. Unknown.
Type locality. Near Palau, western South Pacific Ocean (5°02'N 135°33’E) 4732 m, trawl 0–2000 m; East Pacific vent region 13°N, 2635 m.
Material examined. 1 female, AM P.70533, east of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (33°50.9’S 152°15.2’E), 3178–4860 m, Isaacs-Kidd midwater trawl, 26–27 April 1989, J. R. Paxton, NMAS Cook [JP 89-2]; 1 specimen, AM P.96583, Hill D 1, south-southeast of South East Cape (44°23.4'S 147°16.2'E), 1942 m, baited trap, 31 January 1997, CSIRO party on FRV Southern Surveyor, FRV Southern Surveyor [SS01/97/65].
Diagnostic description. Mandible molar setose with triturating surface. Maxilla 2 inner plate significantly shorter than outer plate. Gnathopod 1 subchelate; coxa 1 large, about as long as coxa 2, subtriangular, adze-shaped; ischium not enlarged; propodus margins subparallel; palm transverse, slightly convex. Gnathopod 2 subchelate; palm transverse, margin sinusoidal. Pereopod 7 basis tapering distally. Epimeron 3 posteroventral corner broadly rounded . Telson moderately cleft.
Remarks. Abyssorchomene distinctus has a broadly rounded posteroventral corner on epimeron 3 such as A. charcoti, A. musculosus and A. nodimanus. Gnathopod 1 is subchelate in A. distinctus and A. musculosus (parachelate in A. charcoti and A. nodimanus). There is little difference between A. distinctus and A. musculosus. The palm of gnathopod 1 is slightly convex in A. distinctus (straight in A. musculosus) and the setal-teeth on maxilla 1 appear to be more slender, but this could be the angle of the illustration. In other respects they appear to be the same.
Depth range. 2635–5173 m (Barnard & Ingram 1990, Jamieson et al. 2011).
Distribution. Pacific Ocean: Near Palau (5°02'N 135°33’E) (Birstein & Vinogradov 1960); East Pacific vent region 13°N (Barnard & Ingram 1990); Loyalty Islands (Lowry & Stoddart 1994); Kermadec Trench (Jamieson et al. 2011). North Atlantic Ocean. Cape Verde Plain (Thurston 1990).