The discovery of four undescribed flabelligerid species from deep-water in Pacific Costa Rica resulted in the restriction of Diplocirrus Haase, 1915. As currently understood, Diplocirrus and Pherusa Oken, 1807 are separated after their morphological pattern. The species belonging in Diplocirrus have two types of branchiae, poorly developed cephalic cages and multiarticulate neurochaetae, whereas Pherusa species have branchiae of one type, well-developed cephalic cages and completely anchylosed neurochaetae. Benthic sampling and processing usually damage cephalic cages and if chaetae are completely broken, one could regard specimens without them, when they actually have it, but lost after sieving. Sampling using Alvin deep-sea submarine at methane seeps off Costa Rica resulted in some well-preserved specimens, and some of them fall between these two genera because they have well developed cephalic cages, and multiarticulate neurochaetae. Saphobranchia Chamberlin, 1919, with Stylarioides longisetosa von Marenzeller, 1890, as type species, is herein reinstated for some species previously included in Diplocirrus, restricted. The transferred species, including three ones newly described herein, have branchiae of a single type, long cephalic cage and body chaetae, and neurochaetae basally anchylosed and medially and distally articulated; some species currently included in Diplocirrus described from Arctic or deep water sediments are transferred into it. A key to identify all species in Saphobranchia, and another key to identify species in the restricted Diplocirrus are also included. The three new Saphobranchia species are S. canela n. sp., S. ilys n. sp. and S. omorpha n. sp. The fourth species belongs in Lamispina Salazar-Vallejo, 2014, and it is herein described as L. polycerata n. sp. after the presence of some long papillae along anterior margin of chaetiger 1.
A robotic sentinel for benthic sampling along a transect
