Penteparatanais, Bird & Bamber, 2013

BIRD, GRAHAM J. & BAMBER, ROGER N., 2013, New littoral, shelf, and bathyal Paratanaidae (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from New Zealand, with descriptions of three new genera, Zootaxa 3676 (1), pp. 1-71 : 55

Penteparatanais gen. nov.

Diagnosis. Female: with carapace entire. Pleonites 1–4 epimera with articulated pappose seta. Pleotelson not plate-like. Antennule five-articled, without distinct cap-like segment; article-2 PSS short. Antenna article-2 with inferodistal apophysis; article-3 with superior spine; articles 2–4 without longitudinal ridge. Mandible body smooth. Maxilliped endite tubercles small, rounded; palp article-2 without modified medial seta. Cheliped palm without sinuate spine near articulation with dactylus, medial comb with many spines (ca. eight). Pereopods 2–3 basis naked; carpus inferior pair of spines longer than broad, equal. Pereopods 4–6 ischium with two setae; carpus without elevated rows of spinules on inferior margin. Uropod rami at least as long as peduncle. Male unknown.

Type species. Penteparatanais laevicarpus sp.nov., by monotypy.

Etymology. From Greek pente, alluding to the five-articled antennule.

Gender. Male.

Distribution. New Zealand; bathyal, 907– 908 m.

Remarks. The “extra” antennule article in this genus appears to be formed from the division of the “normal” fourth article in Paratanais . It may represent an atavistic character, but in Leptochelia the same feature is associated with preparatory males (Bamber 2010); here the specimens are unquestionably female. A converse pattern is seen in the recently described Triparatanais Bamber & Chatterjee, 2010 , where the three-articled condition is achieved through fusion of the two proximal articles (here as articles 1 and 2). The smooth inferior margin of the pereopods 4–6 carpus also marks this taxon as outside the normal Paratanais condition (and similar to Atemtanais ) where a double row of spinules constitute a form of clinging apparatus, although there are scattered spinules or combs. Unless stated otherwise, the implicit characters given for NZ Paratanais are applicable to the following new species.