Taxonomic Description and Phylogenetic Relationships of Novel Deep Sea Anemones from Hydrothermal Vents in Antarctica

Sea anemones belong to the phylum Cnidaria, a group of relatively simple animals characterized mainly by having cnidocytes (stinging capsules) used in prey imprisonment and defense. Despite their simplicity, sea anemones are very successful and have adapted to all marine environments displaying high biodiversity. The discovery of novel species of sea anemones from extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents has brought the attention of the scientific community to this group of marine animals. Traditionally the taxonomy of sea anemones is based in the internal anatomy of the polyp, which requires the use of histology and optic microscopy. Recently, molecular data are also used to study the phylogenetic relationships among sea anemones; however, the low variability of the molecular markers within the group challenges species level identification based on molecular data. In this project we describe two new species of sea anemone from Antarctic deep sea environments using morphological traditional characters.