taxonID	type	description	language	source
ABB2C0F7BD68573A806FFABCD58D571B.taxon	description	Figs 2, 3, 4	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
ABB2C0F7BD68573A806FFABCD58D571B.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. A member of the genus Laetmogone with the following features: Colour uniformly dark violet; tentacles 17, with rounded terminal discs, slightly lobed; calcareous ring absent; papillae conspicuous, nine in each dorsal radius; tube feet 12 pairs, placed in single rows along ventrolateral radii. Body-wall ossicles in form of elasipodid wheels, circular in outline, with 4 – 5 (rarely 6) central rays, 8 – 17 spokes, nave covered by a calcareous membrane; rods and few irregular ossicles in papillae, tube feet and tentacles; cross-shaped ossicles absent.	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
ABB2C0F7BD68573A806FFABCD58D571B.taxon	description	Description. Body long, cylindrical, slightly pointed anteriorly (Fig. 2 A, B), 31 cm long, 7.5 cm wide in situ (Fig. 2 C, D), 11 cm long, 1.5 cm wide in preserved state. Colour uniformly dark violet in both vivo and preserved states (Fig. 2 A – F). Tentacles 17, large, 0.6 – 1 cm in length after several days of fixation, slightly lobed (Fig. 2 E, F). Dorsal papillae conspicuous and nine pairs, arranged in single rows along dorsal radii, 0.7 – 3 cm long after preservation. Ventrolateral tube feet large, robust and conical, up to 12 pairs, 0.4 – 0.9 cm in a state of preservation. Mouth ventral, anus terminal. Ventrolateral brim absent. Calcareous ring absent; gonads with numerous branched tubules, arranged in several clusters. Only wheel ossicles in dorsal and ventral body walls (Fig. 3 A – G), with no sharp distinction between the two types. The nave of every wheel covered by a calcareous membrane (Fig. 3 D). Wheels in body wall 0.04 – 0.21 mm in diameter, central rays 4 – 5, rarely 6, 8 – 17 spokes. Rods and wheels in tube feet, papillae and tentacles, wheels similar to those of the body wall. Papillae wheels, rods and few irregular ossicles (Fig. 4 A), rods smooth and stout, curved or straight, occasionally possessing a few little spines on rod ends, 0.2 – 0.5 mm long. Wheels and curved rods in tentacles (Fig. 4 B), rods up to 0.8 mm in length, with small spines on both ends, some rods terminally bifurcated (Fig. 4 B). Ossicles in tube feet (Fig. 4 C) wheels, rods and irregular ossicles, rods similar in size and shape to those in papillae, irregular ossicles may represent a developmental stage of wheels. More details of the hub, rim, central rays, spoke spaces and orientation of wheels from L. multiradiolus sp. nov. were shown in Fig. 5. We counted the spokes and central rays and the diameter was measured in the specimen collected from the Kermadec Trench (Table 1). A sample of 100 wheels taken from the body wall, papillae, tube feet and tentacles (Table 1) revealed the following data: A total of 44 % of wheels had four central rays, 55 % had five and only 1 % had six rays. The number of spokes per wheel varied from 8 – 17 with the majority (84 %) having 9 – 14 spokes (11 % with 9, 23 % with 10, 11 % with 11, 15 % with 12, 14 % with 13 and 10 % with 14 spokes). The largest wheel (0.21 mm) had only 11 spokes. Only wheels with a diameter of 0.06 mm had the maximum spokes (17). A higher spoke number (15 – 17) is typical of smaller (<0.1 mm) wheels.	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
ABB2C0F7BD68573A806FFABCD58D571B.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific name was derived from the Latin words multi (many) and radius (ray or beam), which refers to the large number of the spokes of wheel ossicles.	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
ABB2C0F7BD68573A806FFABCD58D571B.taxon	distribution	Distribution and habitat. Known only from the type locality so far. In this field, the holotype was found on flat sedimentary terrains. Benthic species, no swimming behaviour was observed.	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
FA3FE48DB2CA54019D65C955EE9A1354.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. “ Circum oral papillae absent; mid-ventral tube feet absent; dorsal papillae in single rows, double rows or bands; ventrolateral papillae absent; wheels lacking marginal teeth ” [from Hansen 1975: 52].	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
FA3FE48DB2CA54019D65C955EE9A1354.taxon	type_taxon	Type species. Laetmogone wyvillethomsoni Théel, 1879.	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
5993F11E175E569FAA832DCC0A0D36E5.taxon	description	Figs 5, 6	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
5993F11E175E569FAA832DCC0A0D36E5.taxon	description	Description. Body cylinder-shaped and slender. 15.6 – 24 cm long and 5.2 – 7 cm wide before preservation (Fig. 6 A – E), with the length exceeding the width by more than three times. Mouth anterior, subventral (Fig. 6 A – D). Anus terminal, slightly dorsal. Colour dark violet in both vivo and fixed states. Tentacles 15, of similar size. Odd ambulacrum naked. Conical tube feet 21 – 28, arranged in single rows on ventrolateral radii. Each dorsal radius with a single row of 12 – 17 long papillae. Ossicle morphology unavailable due to poor condition of the South China Sea specimens.	en	Xiao, Yun-Lu, Zhang, Hai-Bin (2025): Morphological and molecular evidence reveals a new species of Laetmogone (Holothuroidea, Elasipodida) from abyssal depths of the south Pacific Ocean. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1): 127-139, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.135131
