Onycomenes, Bruce, 2009

Bruce, A. J., 2009, Comments on the generic position of Typton australis Bruce, 1973, and some related taxa (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pontoniinae), Zootaxa 2076 (1), pp. 60-62 : 61

Onycomenes gen. nov.

Diagnosis. — Rostrum reduced, depressed, with small preterminal dorsal tooth; carapace without supraorbital, antennal or hepatic spines, orbit feebly developed, inferior orbital angle obsolete; abdomen with rounded pleura; telson with two pairs of dorsal, three pairs of posterior spines; antennule normal; antenna with scaphocerite reduced, basicerite unarmed; eye normal, without accessory pigment spot; epistome unarmed; labrum hypertrophied, triangular, anteromedian margin exceeding bases of antennules; mandible without palp, maxillipeds with well developed, broad, strap-like exopods, with numerous plumose setae distally, third maxilliped with ischiomerus and basis fused, lateral plate small, without arthrobranch; first pereiopods robust, chela with fingers simple, cutting edges entire; second pereiopods similar in shape, unequal in size, palms not strongly compressed, fingers unarmed, without molar process and fossa, dactyl compressed, cutting edges entire, sharp, opposing into groove on fixed finger, third and fourth ambulatory pereiopods with simply biunguiculate dactyl, accessory tooth not compressed, fifth with simple dactyl; uropod with acute distolateral tooth and small mobile spine.

Type species. — Onycocaridella antokha Marin, 2007 , by present designation and monotypy, gender feminine.

Etymology. — Derived from parts of the pontoniine generic names Onycocaris and Periclimenes , first used by Nobili (1904) and Costa (1844), respectively.

Systematic position. — Onycomenes appears to be most closely related to Onycocaridella Bruce, 1981 , from which it may be distinguished by the greatly hypertrophied labrum and the strap-like flagella of the exopods of the maxillipeds with their numerous long distal marginal and terminal plumose setae. The second pereiopod fingers possibly occlude with a chopping action rather than cutting or shearing actions as in Onycocaridella and Typton .