New deep water gastropods from the Bimini shelf, Bimini chain, Bahamas

Recent deep water (300-400 m) dredgings along the Bimini Shelf, Bimini Chain, Great Bahama Bank, have uncovered a benthic community that contains twenty-eight species of gastropods. Of these, eight species were found to be new to science and include: Serpulorbis squamolineatus sp. nov. (Vermetidae), Vermicularia bathyalissp. nov. (Turritellidae), Antillophos bahamasensissp. nov., Antillophos freemanisp. nov., and Chickcharnea fragilis gen. et sp. nov. (all Buccinidae), Persicula bahamasensis sp. nov. (Marginellidae), Olivella (Macgintiella) biminiensis sp. nov. (Olividae), and Polystira starretti sp. nov. (Turridae). This benthic community was found to be dominated by the conid gastropod Conus (Lindaconus) lindae and the stylasterine hydrocoral Stylaster laevigata (which grew on the accumulated dead cone shells) and is here named the Conus lindae-Stylaster laevigata Community. The new buccinid genus Chickcharnea (type: C. fragilis sp. nov.) and the new conid subgenus Lindaconus subgen. nov. (type: Conus lindae Petuch, 1987) are described. The ecology and biogeographical affinities of the Bimini Shelf gastropod fauna are discussed.