Hexapleomera robusta (Moore, 1894)

H. robusta, Sieg, 1980, 122–129; figs 33, 34, 39.

Material examined. 1 female (TAU AR 28449), MI 3, 31°51.472'N 034°39.553'E, 4.7 m depth; 2 females (NHM.2008.4911–4912), MI 4, 31°51.733’N 034°39.699’E, 4.4 m depth; both 0 2 May 2007.

Remarks. This is a distinctive species of the Tanaidae, with five distinct pleonites and truncate anterior pereonites. The present distribution of this species is world-wide, but this is suspected to be the result of synonymies of distinct taxa. The type-locality is off New Jersey, USA. Records from the eastern Mediterranean are from Suez (Omer-Cooper, 1929) and Alexandria (Larwood, 1940), and recent material has been collected from Lebanese waters (Bamber, unpubl.). Other distribution records are summarized by Sieg (1980).

Hexapleomera robusta is most commonly recorded as an ectoparasite on turtle tests and on manatees (e.g. Sieg, 1980; Morales-Vela et al., 2008), although Dudich (1931) found specimens among littoral algae. It is feasible that the present specimens had fallen from a turtle. This was the only member of the Tanaidae to be recorded in these soft-sediment surveys.