Abyssal Ascidians Collected from the Proximity of Hydrothermal Vents in the Pacific Ocean

Repeated dives of submersibles in remarkable areas of the ocean such as rifts, hydrothermal vents, and trough slopes have provided faunal samples attached to rocks. During six oceanographic cruises eight ascidian species were collected from such sites. Three species described here are new, three others are completely redescribed, and two have their geographical distributions extended. In addition, Benthascidia michaelseni is revised after a new study of the type material.