Paraeuchaeta confusa Tanaka 1958

Euchaeta confusa (Tanaka, 1958)

This species was originally described from the Izu region, Middle Japan, by Tanaka (1958) and has been recorded from the Kurile-Kamchatka Trench by Heptner (1971).

The female is characteristic in having a single-lobed genital flange and pronounced posterior edge of the genital field followed by a biconvexed posterior side of the genital prominence (Figure 11b,c). The male is easily recognized by the serrated lamella of the left fifth leg (Figure 11l,m), which is unique in having four large serrated teeth along the internal margin.

In the present study, the species was represented by four females and two males found in two tows down to depths of 1000 and 2000 m, respectively, in the Bartlett Deep of the western Caribbean Sea. These findings are the first record of the species in the Atlantic Ocean. The females measured 6.50–7.08 mm in body length and 4.83–5.00 mm in prosome length, and the males 5.83–5.91 mm in body length and 4.16 mm in prosome length.