Chauliopleona

Bird, Graham J, 2007, Family incertae cedis *, Zootaxa 1599, pp. 121-149 : 143

Chauliopleona spp.

Material examined. 1 manca-III, station XR-12, 41º37.67’– 41º37.08’N 146º54.19’– 146º52.72’E, 5473– 5484 metres, 4 m ORE beam trawl, 23 September 2001. 1 non-ovigerous female, station XR-5, 42°23.83’– 42°22.06’N 145°31.06’– 145°27.70’E, 3145–3265 metres, 16 September 2001. 1 post-ovigerous female, station XR-7, 42°12.87’– 42°12.10’N 145°33.93’– 145°32.05’E, 3853–3858 metres, 17 September 2001.

Remarks. Only three specimens of Chauliopleona were obtained in the present study, two of them damaged (but not so far as to be totally unidentifiable) and one a small manca-III stage. Two species may be present: one from stations XR-12 (manca-III, length 1.72 mm) and XR-5 (non-ovigerous female, length 3.8 mm) and the other from XR-7 (post-ovigerous female, 4.9 mm). The first has a weakly crenulated cheliped dactylus and, in the larger individual, a very long ventrally -directed pleonal spur. It also possesses a coarsely ornamented cuticle. The second putative species lacks cheliped crenulations, a posteriorly -directed pleonal spur, and has more slender pereopods and uropods. Both species have a relatively shallow cheliped carpal shield. Further study (and, ideally, additional specimens) is required to formally identify or name these taxa, although they do not easily match any described species.