TANAELLIDAE Larsen and Wilson, 2002

Larsen, Kim & Heard, Richard, 2004, Revision of the tanaidomorphan deep-sea genus Tanaella (Crustacea: Tanaidacea), Journal of Natural History 38 (5), pp. 549-579 : 551

Family TANAELLIDAE Larsen and Wilson, 2002

Diagnosis, female. No plates in carapace. Eyes absent. Pereonite 1 not reduced. Pleon with five free pleonites, as wide as or narrower than pereon, no articulated setae on pleonites. Antennule with four articles. Antenna article 3 without dorsal spiniform setae. Mandible molar process longer than incisor, tapering distally with several spines along the edge. Labium with two lobes, medial processes absent. Maxilliped basis fused or not, endites not fused, narrower than basis and with one or no flat setae/processes. Cheliped attachment via triangular sclerite. Marsupium (where known) with four pairs of oostegites. Pereopod coxa present on pereopods 1–3 but absent on pereopods 4–6, dactylus and unguis not fused to a hook. Pleopods well developed, reduced or absent. Uropod endopod with one or two articles, exopod reduced.

Diagnosis, male (only known from Tanaella ). Essentially identical to the female. Antennule thicker than that of female, pleopods always retained but mainly with simple setae only.

Genera included. Araphura Bird and Holdich, 1984 ; Araphuroides Sieg, 1986 ; Arthrura Kudinova-Pasternak 1966 ; Tanaella Norman and Stebbing, 1886 .

Remarks. This family was recently created by Larsen and Wilson (2002) in the first comprehensive computer-assisted phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily Paratanaidoidea . The support value for this family is rather weak. The genera of this family all formerly belonged to the subfamily Akanthophoreinae .