Seepiophila jonesi, a new genus and species of vestimentiferan tube worm (Annelida: Pogonophora) from hydrocarbon seep communities in the Gulf of Mexico

Seepiophila jonesi, a new genus and species of vestimentiferan tube worm is described from material collected from hydrocarbon seep communities in the Gulf of Mexico, based on morphological and molecular characters. In these communities, individuals occur singly, in small groups or in association with large aggregations of a second vestimentiferan species, Lamellibrachia cf. luymesi. Tubes extend deeply into the sediment, and a relatively short apical portion normally projects above the sea floor. Seepiophila jonesi is most similar to vestimentiferan species in the genus Escarpia but differs from it and other vestimentiferan species by a combination of morphological characters that includes the number of types of branchial filaments associated with the branchial plume, the presence of an incision in the posteroventral margin of the vestimentum, the presence of a well-developed, medial obturacular structure, the relative position of the excretory pore and the presence of a variable number of broad collars associated with the tube. The divergence in the sequence of the cytochrome oxidase I gene between S. jonesi and other described vestimentiferan tube worms supports its placement in a new genus within the family Escarpiidae.