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Order NEOMPHALIDA McLean, 1990 Superfamily NEOMPHALOIDEA McLean, 1981 Family PELTOSPIRIDAE McLean, 1989 Lirapex Warén and Bouchet, 1989 Type species Lirapex humatus Warén and Bouchet, 1989 (by original designation). Diagnosis Small- to medium-sized (, Published as part of Chen, Chong, Han, Yuru, Copley, Jonathan T. & Zhou, Yadong, 2021, A new peltospirid snail (Gastropoda: Neomphalida) adds to the unique biodiversity of Longqi vent field, Southwest Indian Ridge, pp. 851-866 in Journal of Natural History 55 (13 - 14) on pages 855-856, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2021.1923851, http://zenodo.org/record/5464198, {"references":["McLean JH. 1989. New archaeogastropod limpets from hydrothermal vents: new family Peltospiridae, new superfamily Peltospiracea. Zool Scr. 18 (1): 49 - 66. doi: 10.1111 / j. 1463 - 6409.1989. tb 00123. x.","Waren A, Bouchet P. 1989. New gastropods from East Pacific hydrothermal vents. Zool Scr. 18 (1): 67 - 102. doi: 10.1111 / j. 1463 - 6409.1989. tb 00124. x.","Waren A, Bouchet P. 2001. Gastropoda and Monoplacophora from hydrothermal vents and seeps; new taxa and records. Veliger. 44: 116 - 231. doi: 10.1111 / j. 1463 - 6409.1993. tb 00342. x.","Chen C, Zhou Y, Wang C, Copley JT. 2017 a. Two new hot-vent peltospirid snails (Gastropoda: Neomphalina) from Longqi hydrothermal field, Southwest Indian Ridge. Front Mar Sci. 4. doi: 10.3389 / fmars. 2017.00392."]}

We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants' experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future in-person meetings to have at least some online component. Online attendance by lower-income researchers was higher compared with a past, similar-themed in-person meeting held in a high-income nation, but comparable to one held in an upper-middle-income nation. This indicates that online conferences are not a panacea to increasing diversity and inclusivity, and that holding in-person meetings in developing economies can be at least as effective. Given that it is now relatively easy to stream contents of meetings online using low-cost methods, there are clear benefits in making all presented content accessible online, as well as organizing online networking events for those unable to attend in person.

MotivationTraits are increasingly being used to quantify global biodiversity patterns, with trait databases growing in size and number, across diverse taxa. Despite growing interest in a trait‐based approach to the biodiversity of the deep sea, where the impacts of human activities (including seabed mining) accelerate, there is no single repository for species traits for deep‐sea chemosynthesis‐based ecosystems, including hydrothermal vents. Using an international, collaborative approach, we have compiled the first global‐scale trait database for deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna – sFDvent (sDiv‐funded trait database for the Functional Diversity of vents). We formed a funded working group to select traits appropriate to: (a) capture the performance of vent species and their influence on ecosystem processes, and (b) compare trait‐based diversity in different ecosystems. Forty contributors, representing expertise across most known hydrothermal‐vent systems and taxa, scored species traits using online collaborative tools and shared workspaces. Here, we characterise the sFDvent database, describe our approach, and evaluate its scope. Finally, we compare the sFDvent database to similar databases from shallow‐marine and terrestrial ecosystems to highlight how the sFDvent database can inform cross‐ecosystem comparisons. We also make the sFDvent database publicly available online by assigning a persistent, unique DOI.Main types of variable containedSix hundred and forty‐six vent species names, associated location information (33 regions), and scores for 13 traits (in categories: community structure, generalist/specialist, geographic distribution, habitat use, life history, mobility, species associations, symbiont, and trophic structure). Contributor IDs, certainty scores, and references are also provided.Spatial location and grainGlobal coverage (grain size: ocean basin), spanning eight ocean basins, including vents on 12 mid‐ocean ridges and 6 back‐arc spreading centres.Time period and grainsFDvent includes information on deep‐sea vent species, and associated taxonomic updates, since they were first discovered in 1977. Time is not recorded. The database will be updated every 5 years.Major taxa and level of measurementDeep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna with species‐level identification present or in progress.Software format.csv and MS Excel (.xlsx).

Traits are increasingly being used to quantify global biodiversity patterns, with trait databases growing in size and number, across diverse taxa. Despite growing interest in a trait‐based approach to the biodiversity of the deep sea, where the impacts of human activities (including seabed mining) accelerate, there is no single repository for species traits for deep‐sea chemosynthesis‐based ecosystems, including hydrothermal vents. Using an international, collaborative approach, we have compiled the first global‐scale trait database for deep‐sea hydrothermal‐vent fauna – sFDvent (sDiv‐funded trait database for the Functional Diversity of vents). We formed a funded working group to select traits appropriate to: (a) capture the performance of vent species and their influence on ecosystem processes, and (b) compare trait‐based diversity in different ecosystems. Forty contributors, representing expertise across most known hydrothermal‐vent systems and taxa, scored species traits using online collaborative tools and shared workspaces. Here, we characterise the sFDvent database, describe our approach, and evaluate its scope. Finally, we compare the sFDvent database to similar databases from shallow‐marine and terrestrial ecosystems to highlight how the sFDvent database can inform cross‐ecosystem comparisons. We also make the sFDvent database publicly available online by assigning a persistent, unique DOI.

The recent discovery and exploration of deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields in the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre, Caribbean Sea (Beebe Vent Field, 4956–4972 m depth) and the East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean (E2 and E9 vent fields, 2394–2641 m depth) have yielded extensive collections of two new provannid species, Provanna beebei n. sp. and P. cooki n. sp. Morphological and molecular taxonomy (530 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene) confirm P. beebei n. sp. and P. cooki n. sp. as distinct species; these species are formally described, and details are provided of their distribution, habitat and species associations. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses support the placement of P. beebei n. sp. and P. cooki n. sp within the genus Provanna and show that these two new deep-sea species form a well-supported clade with the abyssal West Pacific P. cingulata. Provanna beebei n. sp. and P. cooki n. sp. represent the first records of Provanna from hydrothermal vents in the Caribbean Sea and Southern Ocean, respectively, and extend the known geographic range of the genus. For the first time, intraspecific phenotypic variation in size and sculpture has been reported for Provanna. At the East Scotia Ridge, shell-size frequency distributions and median shell size of P. cooki n. sp. varied significantly between the E2 and E9 vent fields, as well as between diffuse flow and high-temperature venting habitats within each field. The variation in shell sculpture in relation to habitat was also observed in P. cooki n. sp.

Presence/absence data for vent taxa compiled from published literature for Kemp Caldera and 15 well-studied vent fields in neighbouring oceanic regions.

Pachycara caribbaeum sp. nov. (Figs. 2���4, Table 1) Holotype. BMNH 2015.9. 10.1 (immature male, 199 mm SL), Von Damm Vent Field, Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre, 18 �� 22.503 ' N, 81 �� 47.858 ' W, collected by suction sampler from ROV Isis, dive 198, depth 2313 m, water temperature 4.4 ��C, RRS James Cook cruise JC82, 10 February 2013. Paratypes. MCZ 171014 (immature male, 117 mm SL), Von Damm Vent Field, Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre, 18 �� 22.62 ' N, 81 �� 47.89 ' W, collected by suction sampler from ROV Hercules, dive H 1295, depth 2309 m, water temperature 4.4 ��C, EV Nautilus cruise NA034, 26 August 2013. MCZ 171085 (immature female, 197 mm SL), same data as preceding specimen. Diagnosis. A species of Pachycara as defined by Anderson (1989, 1994) with the following combination of characters: vertebrae 31���33 + 76���79 = 107���112; pectoral fin rays 12���14; pelvic fin rays 2; single mediolateral branch of the lateral line system; scales present on nape and cheeks. Description. Head ovoid, deeper than wide in larger specimens than smallest, snout gently sloping in all. Scales cycloid, relatively sparsely distributed in these juveniles, absent on fins and pectoral base and axil; scales present in nape to about one eye diameter posterior to eye in smallest specimen, to interorbital area in others. Eye small, rounded, entering dorsal profile of head in larger of the three fish. Gill slit moderate, reaching ventrally to lower edge of pectoral base or just below it. Opercular lobe at dorsal margin of gill slit slightly rounded posteriorly, extending forward about one eye diameter except on right side of MCZ 171085 where it does not extend forward. Pectoral-fin origin slightly below body midline, insertion on abdomen; posterior margin of fin wedge-shaped, with rays 4���6 from dorsalmost the longest; ventralmost rays not noticeably thickened, no ray tips exserted. Right pectoral fin of holotype appears deformed, shorter than the left (32.1 vs. 45.8 % HL; Fig. 3 A), with the tips of the dorsalmost rays missing (Fig. 3 B). Mouth very slightly subterminal and oblique, upper jaw extending posteriorly to middle of eye. Epidermal prickles absent on head. Nostril tube not reaching forward to upper lip. Oral valve reaching just posterior to anterior edge of vomer. Jaw teeth small, conical; premaxilla with single row of teeth in smallest, two or three anterior rows blending into single posterior row in larger specimens; dentary with three rows of teeth anteriorly blending into single posterior row in all. Vomerine teeth few in these juveniles. Palatine teeth in single row, also relatively few. Cephalic lateralis system with no variation in pore counts. Two postorbital pores (one and four of Anderson 1994). Suborbital pores 6 + 0 on both sides of all. Eight preoperculomandibular pores. Two anterior supraorbital (nasal) pores, one set anteromesial to nostril tube, the other dorsoposteriorly. Interorbital and occipital pores absent. Body lateral line system with single, mediolateral branch originating just posterior to postorbital pore 4, running to tail tip. No trace of ventral or dorsolateral neuromasts. Dorsal-fin origin associated with vertebrae 7���8, with no free pterygiophores (Fig. 4). Anal fin origin associated with vertebrae 30���31 (ultimate precaudal), with 3���5 pterygiophores inserted anterior to haemal spine of first caudal vertebra. Last dorsal ray associated with fourth preural vertebra, last anal ray associated with second preural vertebra. Caudal fin with two epural, four upper hypural and four lower hypural rays. Gill rakers short, those on upper limb (epibranchial) acute, lower rakers (ceratobranchial and hypobranchial) blunt, roughly triangular. Pseudobranchial filaments short and slender. Branchiostegal rays 4 + 2. Fresh colouration of holotype (Figs. 2 and 3 A) and paratype MCZ 171085 uniformly pinkish white, edges of unpaired fins translucent, abdomen bluish black, eye blue. In preservative all specimens dull whitish, orobranchial chamber pale. Etymology. The specific name recognises the first records of the genus at deep-sea chemosynthetic environments in the Caribbean Sea. Distribution. Known from two bathyal collections at chemosynthetic environments in the Caribbean at the hydrothermally active Von Damm Vent Field on the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre (depth ca. 2300 m). Tentatively referred specimen. MCZ 171653 (sex undetermined, 56.5 mm SL), methane seep near Tobago, 11 ˚ 14.302 ���N, 59 ˚ 20.681 ���W, suction sampler from ROV Hercules, dive H1392, 1049 m, temperature 5.3 ˚C, EV Nautilus cruise NA054, 5 October 2014., Published as part of Anderson, M. Eric, Somerville, Russell & Copley, Jonathan T., 2016, A new species of Pachycara Zugmayer, 1911 (Teleostei: Zoarcidae) from deep-sea chemosynthetic environments in the Caribbean Sea, pp. 71-77 in Zootaxa 4066 (1) on pages 72-76, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4066.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/270534, {"references":["Anderson, M. E. (1989) Review of the eelpout genus Pachycara Zugmayer, 1911 (Teleostei: Zoarcidae), with description of six new species. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 46 (10), 221 - 242.","Anderson, M. E. (1994) Systematics and osteology of the Zoarcidae (Teleostei: Perciformes). Ichthyological Bulletin of the J. L. B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, 60, 1 - 120."]}

Recently discovered hydrothermal vent fields on the East Scotia Ridge (ESR, 56–60°S, 30°W), Southern Ocean, and the South West Indian Ridge (SWIR, 37°S 49°E), Indian Ocean, host two closely related new species of peltospirid gastropods. Morphological and molecular (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) characterization justify the erection of Gigantopelta gen. nov. within the Peltospiroidae with two new species, Gigantopelta chessoia sp. nov. from ESR and Gigantopelta aegis sp. nov. from SWIR. They attain an extremely large size for the clade Neomphalina, reaching 45.7 mm in shell diameter. The oesophageal gland of both species is markedly enlarged. Gigantopelta aegis has a thick sulphide coating on both the shell and the operculum of unknown function. The analysis of a 579-bp fragment of the COI gene resulted in 19–28% pairwise distance between Gigantopelta and six other genera in Peltospiridae, whereas the range amongst those six genera was 12–28%. The COI divergence between the two newly described species of Gigantopelta was 4.43%. Population genetics analyses using COI (370 bp) of 30 individuals of each species confirmed their genetic isolation and indicate recent rapid demographic expansion in both species

Radiation of dramatically disparate forms among the phylum Mollusca remains a key question in metazoan evolution, and requires careful evaluation of homology of hard parts throughout the deep fossil record. Enigmatic early Cambrian taxa such as Halkieria and Wiwaxia (in the clade Halwaxiida) have been proposed to represent stem-group aculiferan molluscs (Caudofoveata + Solenogastres + Polyplacophora), as complex scleritomes were considered to be unique to aculiferans among extant molluscs. The ‘scaly-foot gastropod’ (Neomphalina: Peltospiridae) from hydrothermal vents of the Indian Ocean, however, also carries dermal sclerites and thus challenges this inferred homology. Despite superficial similarities to various mollusc sclerites, the scaly-foot gastropod sclerites are secreted in layers covering outpockets of epithelium and are largely proteinaceous, while chiton (Polyplacophora: Chitonida) sclerites are secreted to fill an invaginated cuticular chamber and are largely calcareous. Marked differences in the underlying epithelium of the scaly-foot gastropod sclerites and operculum suggest that the sclerites do not originate from multiplication of the operculum. This convergence in different classes highlights the ability of molluscs to adapt mineralized dermal structures, as supported by the extensive early fossil record of molluscs with scleritomes. Sclerites of halwaxiids are morphologically variable, undermining the assumed affinity of specific taxa with chitons, or the larger putative clade Aculifera. Comparisons with independently derived similar structures in living molluscs are essential for determining homology among fossils and their position with respect to the enigmatic evolution of molluscan shell forms in deep time.

Introduction: The 'scaly-foot gastropod' (Chrysomallon squamiferum Chen et al., 2015) from deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems of the Indian Ocean is an active mobile gastropod occurring in locally high densities, and it is distinctive for the dermal scales covering the exterior surface of its foot. These iron-sulfide coated sclerites, and its nutritional dependence on endosymbiotic bacteria, are both noted as adaptations to the extreme environment in the flow of hydrogen sulfide. We present evidence for other adaptations of the 'scaly-foot gastropod' to life in an extreme environment, investigated through dissection and 3D tomographic reconstruction of the internal anatomy.Results: Our anatomical investigations of juvenile and adult specimens reveal a large unganglionated nervous system, a simple and reduced digestive system, and that the animal is a simultaneous hermaphrodite. We show that Chrysomallon squamiferum relies on endosymbiotic bacteria throughout post-larval life. Of particular interest is the circulatory system: Chrysomallon has a very large ctenidium supported by extensive blood sinuses filled with haemocoel. The ctenidium provides oxygen for the host but the circulatory system is enlarged beyond the scope of other similar vent gastropods. At the posterior of the ctenidium is a remarkably large and well-developed heart. Based on the volume of the auricle and ventricle, the heart complex represents approximately 4 % of the body volume. This proportionally giant heart primarily sucks blood through the ctenidium and supplies the highly vascularised oesophageal gland. Thus we infer the elaborate cardiovascular system most likely evolved to oxygenate the endosymbionts in an oxygen poor environment and/or to supply hydrogen sulfide to the endosymbionts.Conclusions: This study exemplifies how understanding the autecology of an organism can be enhanced by detailed investigation of internal anatomy. This gastropod is a large and active species that is abundant in its hydrothermal vent field ecosystem. Yet all of its remarkable features-protective dermal sclerites, circulatory system, high fecundity-can be viewed as adaptations beneficial to its endosymbiont microbes. We interpret these results to show that, as a result of specialisation to resolve energetic needs in an extreme chemosynthetic environment, this dramatic dragon-like species has become a carrying vessel for its bacteria.