Brachylicoa Gutu , 2006

Morales-Nunez, Andres G., Ulrich, Sterling & Heard, Richard W., 2017, Brachylicoalui, a new species of parapseudid tanaidacean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Apseudomorpha), from the Hawaiian Islands, with a taxonomic key, Zoosystematics and Evolution 93 (2), pp. 413-435 : 413-414

Brachylicoa Gutu, 2006

Diagnosis.

See Guţu [2006: new genus and diagnosis]; Guţu [2007: completion of genus diagnosis and additional description of B. muelleri ]; Guţu [2008; remarks].

Emended diagnosis.

Hermaphroditism common with many adults having both oostegites and male genital cone. Rostrum weakly incised or entire at interface with carapace, broad posteriorly and with lateral margins entire or serrate, becoming greatly compressed anteriorly to form small, narrow, acute tip. Carapace ventral margins with row of 9−13 spiniform setae. Pereonite-6 and pleonites 1−5 lacking transverse row of setae on dorsal surface. Antennule with peduncle article-1 having 2−3 distinctive spiniform setae on inner margin and with flagella nearly equal in length. Ventral margins of carapace with row of 9−13 spiniform setae. Maxilliped basis with one or two, spiniform, stout seta on or near inner distal margin. Pereopod-1 with length of basis about equal to combined lengths of ischium-merus-carpus; merus with spiniform setae on distoventral margin; carpus with spiniform seta on distodorsal and distoventral margins; propodus having distodorsal margin with large spiniform seta (immediately adjacent to dactylus) and ventral margin with two to four spiniform setae. Pereopod-4 with propodus having sub-distal crown of setulate spiniform, lanceolate setae. Pereopod-6 having basis with long setae (plumose and/or simple) on dorsal and ventral margins; propodus with oblique semi-circle of setulate spiniform, lanceolate setae distally.

Male. Cheliped robust, with dorsal margin of basis armed small, but distinct spinose process.

Type species.

Brachylicoa muelleri ( Guţu, 1998)

Composition (four species). Brachylicoa estasiatica Guţu, 2007; B. indonesiana Guţu, 2006; B. lui sp. n. (see below); B. muelleri ( Guţu, 1998).

Remarks. Based on our observations, we conclude that the questionable species " B. babelmandebensis " (Băcescu, 1978) described from the North west Indian Ocean, is not congeneric with Brachylicoa sensu stricto. It is immediately distinguished from the other nominal members of Brachylicoa by a having an acutely tipped rostrum with a unique pair of anteriorly directed, lateral spines and by the first pleonite having a distinct transverse, dorsal row of small setae near its anterior margin (see Băcescu 1978: Fig. 4D). Based on these pleonal setae, " B. babelmandebensis " appears to be most similar to the genus Saltipedis sensu lato or it may represent a new but related genus. Pending examination of type or topotypic material, we herein tentatively transfer " Apseudes babelmandebensis Băcescu, 1978 to the genus Saltipedis Guţu 1995, as Saltipedis babelmandebensis (Băcescu, 1978) comb. n.

Błażewicz-Paszkowycz and Bamber (2012: p. 62) commented that Guţu (2006) "somewhat tenuously separated [ Brachylicoa ] from Saltipedis ." Based on our study and the emended diagnosis presented herein, we follow Guţu (2006, 2008) in considering Brachylicoa as a distinct genus. The presence of a crown of setulate spiniform, lanceolate setae near the distal margin on the propodus of pereopod-4 (see Fig. 8F, below) appears to be a reliable generic character for Brachylicoa and it is included in the emended generic diagnosis. This character was used by Guţu (1998: p. 192) when separating Saltipedis muelleri from the genus Saltipedis Guţu, 1995 to become the type species of Brachylicoa . Besides the type species, this setal configuration occurs on the new Hawaiian species described herein and is present in the illustration of pereopod-4 for B. estasiatica ( Guţu 2007: p. 81). Its occurrence on B. indonesiana cannot be verified since pereopod-4 for this species remains undescribed ( Guţu 2006).

Although not prominent, we consider another reliable generic character, originally noted by Guţu (2006), to be the presence of one or two spiniform seta on the inner distal corner of the maxilliped basis. This, among other previously mentioned characters, including the setation of pereopod-4, appears to distinguish Brachylicoa from all other known parapseudid genera.