Typhlotanais Sars, 1882

Segadilha, Juliana L. & Serejo, Cristiana S., 2022, New insights gained from museum collections: new deep-sea species of Typhlotanais (Tanaidacea, Typhlotanaidae) from Brazil, European Journal of Taxonomy 820, pp. 1-54 : 8-9

Genus Typhlotanais Sars, 1882

Type species

Typhlotanais aequiremis (Lilljeborg, 1864) .

Diagnosis

See Błażewicz-Paszkowycz (2007).

Remarks

Błażewicz-Paszkowycz (2007) revised the family in a large monograph, which described five new genera and 13 new species, as well as grouped species sharing a set of unique characters in seven ‘morpho-groups’ within Typhlotanais , e.g. ‘ greenwichensis ’ group, ‘mixtus’ group, ‘ spinicauda ’ group, ‘ cornutus ’ group, ‘plicatus’ group, ‘eximius’ group, and ‘ trispinosus ’ group. Characters of each ‘morpho-group’ are mentioned when comparing to new species described herein. It is assumed that the ‘morpho-groups’ may constitute new genera, but this must be further analyzed with a phylogenetic study. However, some typhlotanaids were neither classified under any previously established genera nor included in the morpho-groups created.

According to Błażewicz-Paszkowycz (2007), Typhlotanais sensu stricto comprises only the type species T. aequiremis (Lilljeborg, 1864) and all other species temporarily classified as Typhlotanais sensu lato, showing large variation in characters as the pereonite-1 ratio (length to width), the number of setae on cheliped carpus dorsal margin setation, the form of mandible molar process form, and the shape of pereopods 1–3 basis shape. Typhlotanais is the most speciose genus of the family with 48 described species and a recent unpublished morphological phylogeny encompassing the family Typhlotanaidae suggests it is a polyphyletic group ( Segadilha 2019) that badly needs a revision.