Diversity, phylogeny, and bathymetric zonation of Sirsoe (Annelida: Hesionidae) from colonization experiments in the South China Sea, with the description of three new species

The South China Sea (SCS) basin is hypothesized to host distinct and bathymetrically differentiated fauna due to its semi‐enclosed basin and three‐layer circulation system. To test this hypothesis, three cow falls are artificially deployed at separate depths (655, 1604, and 3402 m) on Zhongnan seamount in the middle SCS, and the associated worms, Sirsoe spp. are selected as targets to explore their diversity, phylogeny, and zonation pattern. Analyses of collected specimens reveal three new Sirsoe species, which were then nominally described and named as S. polita sp. nov. (655 m), S. nanhaiensis sp. nov. (1604 and 3402 m), and S. feitiana sp. nov. (3402 m), and one known species (S. balaenophila lineage II). Metabarcoding analyses on cow‐fall sediments reveal seven additional Operated Taxonomic Units (OTUs) assigned to Sirsoe, increasing the Sirsoe diversity to 10 species/OTUs in the middle SCS. Their distribution along depth shows increasing diversity toward the deeper sites. Phylogenetic inferences recover S. polita closely related to S. alucia from the Southwest Atlantic, forming a lineage deeply divergent from others. The nine deep‐water species/OTUs are scattered in three distinct lineages showing closer phylogenetic relationships between 1604‐ and 3402‐m counterparts. The lineage formed by S. naihaiensis and S. feitiana is distinct from other non‐SCS congeners both morphologically and genetically. These results suggest multiple independent invasions of Sirsoe to the SCS, a new lineage potentially endemic to the SCS, and a strong zonation pattern related to depth, especially between the shallow (655 m) and the deep (1604 and 3402 m) sites. The semi‐enclosed feature combined with the physical structure of the SCS may contribute to such a pattern. This work is registered in ZooBank under: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:317771C8‐42D717‐4765‐A168‐B3BE99B09FBF.