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 wi th large aggregations of a second vestimentiferan species, Lai:, inellibrac hia cf. luymesi. Tubes extend deeply into the sediment, and a relatively sh ort apical portion normally projects above the sea floor. Seepiophila jones i is most similar to vestimentiferan species in the genus Escarpia but diff ers from it and other vestimentiferan species by a combination of morpholog ical characters that includes the number of types of branchial filaments as sociated with the branchial plume, the presence of an incision in the poste roventral margin of the vestimentum, the presence of a well-developed, medi al obturacular structure, the relative position of the excretory pore and t he 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 placeme nt in a new genus within the family Escarpiidae.