Halicryptus higginsi n.sp (Priapulida) - a giant new species from Barrow, Alaska

A new species of Priapulida was discovered from the Beaufort Sea near Barro w, Alaska. Following an unusually strong autumnal storm, 30 adult specimens of Halicryptus higginsi n.sp. were collected, many alive, from intertidal beaches Additional specimens were found in museum collections misidentified as Halicryptus spinulosus von Siebold 1849. The new species represents the 11th priapulid species described since 1968 and increases the number of de scribed extant species of Priapulida to 18. While all other recently descri bed priapulids have been meiofaunal, Halicryptus higginsi n.sp. is macrofau nal and the largest extant priapulid species, with one specimen being 39 cm long in a contracted condition.