Pooreotanais, Błażewicz-P, 2009

Błażewicz-P, Magdalena, 2009, A new genus of a new Austral family of paratanaoid tanaidacean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea), with two new species., Memoirs of Museum Victoria 66, pp. 5-15 : 7

Genus Pooreotanais gen. nov.

Diagnosis. Pars incisiva of both mandibles with elaborate denticulation; lacinia mobilis absent on right mandible, very reduced (fused) on left mandible; pars molaris reduced to a small spike. Labrum naked. Maxillule with five to eight distal spines. Maxilliped palp article 3 as wide as or wider than long, with no or one inner seta; endite naked, weakly expanded distally. Ischium of pereopods 1 to 3 naked, carpus with one dorsodistal seta, merus and carpus of pereopods 4 to 6 with two subdistallybifurcate distal setae.

Distribution —temperate-tropical Australia.

Etymology. Named in honour of Gary Poore of Museum Victoria, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to crustacean taxonomy and phylogeny.

Type species. Pooreotanais gari sp. nov. by original designation.

Other species. Pooreotanais ningaloo sp. nov.

Remarks. The two new species from Australian waters described herein as members of the new genus Pooreotanais show many affinities to the genus Mirandotanais in the grossly inflated, “maggot-like” appearance, the morphology of the antennules and antennae, and of the cheliped, pereopods (including their sparse setation and the bifurcate unguis on the posterior three pairs) and uropods. The morphology of the mouthparts, however, is remarkably distinct, particularly that of the mandibles with the long marginal teeth on the pars incisiva, the reduced lacinia mobilis and pars molaris; equally the labrum, maxilliped endite and basis are naked (finely setulose, and with single distal seta respectively in M. vorax ), the maxilliped palp articles are stouter and more sparsely setose. Other differences in Pooreotanais include the cheliped setal row having three setae (four in M. vorax ), the naked ischium of the anterior three pairs of pereopods, the presence of proximal setal tufts on the dactyli, and the unguis being shorter than the dactylus on the posterior three pairs of pereopods. There are also differences between the genera in the character of the spines on the merus and carpus of pereopods 4 to 6 (bifurcated in Pooreotanais and simple in Mirandotanais ) and their different number on the carpus (four in Mirandotanais and two in Pooreotanais ). Additionally the expanded pleon is proportionately longer in Pooreotanais than in Mirandotanais .

It is in particular the distinct mouthpart morphology which is considered justification for separating the following two species into a distinct genus.