Molotanaissus, Błażewicz-Paszkowycz & Bamber, 2012

Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, M. & Bamber, R. N., 2012, The Shallow-water Tanaidacea (Arthropoda: Malacostraca: Peracarida) of the Bass Strait, Victoria, Australia (other than the Tanaidae), Memoirs of Museum Victoria 69, pp. 1-235 : 197-198

Genus Molotanaissus gen. nov.

Diagnosis of female. Antennule of three articles; antenna of six articles. Labrum naked. Mandible molar process with distal grinding or crushing surface; incisor process of right mandible triangular, notched, and serrated on anterior border; incisor process of left mandible triangular, serrated on anterior border, lacinia mobilis of similar shape. Maxillule apically curved inwards. Maxilliped bases fused, endites short and distally narrowed and infolded, fused proximally; palp article 1 naked; article 2 with three distal/inner setae, longest of which does not exceed tip of palp. Chela of cheliped not rugose; fixed finger cutting-edge not serrated. Pereopod 1 dactylus plus unguis as long as or longer than propodus, each of these longer than merus and carpus combined. Pereopods 2 and 3 carpus with or without seta and with relatively stout ventrodistal spine; pereopods 4 to 6 with four distal spines on carpus, and with short, stout dactylus armed with small unguis, propodi with long ventrodistal seta exceeding length of dactylus. Pleopods with subequal rami, endopod with subdistal inner plumose seta. Uropod biramous, both rami with two segments, exopod shorter than endopod, endopod proximal segment with conspicuous distal penicillate setae.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. From the Latin molo – “grind”, pertaining to the grinding surface on the molar processes of the mandible (unlike the condition found in Tanaissus or Protanaissus ), and Tanaissus ; masculine.

Type species. Protanaissus makrotrichos Sieg, 1986 by original designation.

Species included: Molotanaissus makrotrichos (Sieg, 1986) comb. nov.; M. alvesi (Guţu, 1996) comb. nov. (see Guţu, 1996c, for distinctions between these two species).

Distribution. Patagonian Shelf off Argentina (20–50 m depth) and off Brazil (58= 60 m).