vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 139–162, 2012 doi: 10.2478/v10183−012−0012−5 Are there widespread peracarid species in the deep sea (Crustacea: Malacostraca)? Angelika BRANDT1*, Magdalena BŁAŻEWICZ−PASZKOWYCZ2, Roger N. BAMBER3, Ute MÜHLENHARDT−SIEGEL1,4, Marina V. MALYUTINA5, Stefanie KAISER1, Claude De BROYER6 and Charlotte HAVERMANS6 1Biocentre Grindel and Zoological Museum Hamburg, Martin−Luther−King−Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany 2Zakład Biologii Polarnej i Oceanobiologii, Uniwersytet Łódzki, ul. Banacha 12/16, 90−237 Łódź, Poland 3ARTOO Marine Biology Consultants LLP,Ocean Quay Marina, Belvidere Road, Southampton SO14 5QY, UK 4Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, DZMB, Südstrand 44, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany 5A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, FEB RAS, Palchevskogo 17, 690059, Vladivostok, Russia 6Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium * corresponding author <
[email protected]−hamburg.de> Abstract: The global zoogeographic distribution of the most widespread peracarid species occurring in three or more ocean basins below 2000 m is analysed. Basing on the published data we investigated 45 peracarid species, which have a most widespread distribution and most likely are cosmopolitan. Thirty−three species have a wide distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Most species occur in the North Atlantic, however, 16 of these species occur also in the North Pacific, a more limited number of species occurs in the South Atlantic or South Pacific The Southern Ocean displays some special zoogeographic features and 22 widespread species occur there below 2000 m, including highly eurybathic ones. In total, 11 of the analysed species occur in all oceans. Eucopia australis (Lophogastrida), Munneury− cope murrayi (Isopoda) and Eurythenes gryllus (Amphipoda) are the species with the wid− est distributions.