Paravaunthompsonia meteorae Mühlenhardt-Siegel, 2008, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Mühlenhardt-Siegel, Ute
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Cumacea
Bodotriidae
Paravaunthompsonia
Paravaunthompsonia meteorae

description: Paravaunthompsonia meteorae gen. nov. sp. nov.
(Figs 1–2)
Type material. Holotype: subadult male, 7.8 mm length; ZMH: K 41943; 22 February 1987; type locality: Red Sea, E Masamirit, 19°03.1'N 39°07.3'E, 1446 m depth, RV Meteor cruise 5/2, station number 167, box corer; M. Türkay coll.
Etymology: The new species is named after the RV Meteor.
Diagnosis. See diagnosis for the genus.
Description. Holotype subadult male, 7.8 mm total length. Body (Fig. 1) carapace 0.3 times total length, with three small teeth dorsomedian on frontal lobe; pseudorostral lobes very short, meeting in a point in front of ocular lobe; siphonal tube short, ocular lobe wider than long; eyes with eight lenses; antennal notch shallow; anterolateral tooth small, acute; anteroventral margin of carapace slightly serrate in the anterior part.
Integument calcified, smooth, but with honeycomb-like structure in higher magnification, causing a weak granulate structure. Four free thoracic segments visible, fourth somite with small lateral process directed forward; pleon 0.8 times as long as carapace and free thoracic segments combined; with five pairs of developing pleopods.
Telsonic segment a little longer than uropod peduncles, produced between uropods.
Antenna 1 (Fig. 2, A1): relative lengths of peduncle articles 1 to 3: 34/29/37; slightly geniculate between article 1 and 2; article 1 with four teeth along outer margin. Accessory flagellum three-articulate, longer than half of basal article of main flagellum; main flagellum two-articulate. Mouthparts not dissected in order to preserve the holotype.
Maxilliped 2 (Fig. 2, Mxp2): basis broken during dissection but longer than rest of appendage, relative lengths of articles I to D: 6/29/ 31/23/11; long pappose setae on distal inner margins of basis and merus, and outer margin of carpus; propodus with four serrulate setae along inner margin.
Maxilliped 3 (Fig. 2, Mxp3): B/R ratio 1.4 (basis measured without distal prolongation), relative lengths of articles I to D: 14/21/24/25/16; basis with distal outer prolongation not reaching merus-carpus articulation, bearing two long and five weakly pappose setae; merus with distal outer prolongation distally bearing two long and three short pappose setae; exopod present.
Pereiopod 1 (Fig. 2, P1): broken after basis; basis with numerous pappose setae along inner and outer margin; exopod present.
Pereiopod 2 (Fig. 2, P2): B/R ratio 0.7, RLA: 6/22/22 /7/43; two long and strong simple seta on carpus, dactylus with nine acuminate setae along margins, dactylus with one terminal and five subterminal setae; exopod present.
Pereiopod 3 (Fig. 2, P3): B/R ratio 1.2, RLA: 15/21/ 40/13/10; three long and strong terminally annulate seta at distal margin of carpus, two at distal margin of propodus, terminal seta of dactylus longer than basal part of dactylus; exopod present.
Pereiopod 4 (Fig. 2, P4): B/R ratio 0.8, RLA: 14/19/ 42/14/10; carpus with three, propodus with one long and strong terminally annulate setae.
Pereiopod 5 (Fig. 2, P5): B/R ratio 0.5, RLA: 15/20/ 42/14/8; carpus with three, propodus with one long and strong terminally annulate setae.
Uropod peduncle 0.9 times pleonite 6 length, inner margin with at least 20 strong setae of varying length; rami terminally broken, endopod two-articulate, inner margin with strong setae, outer margin with thin plumose setae (Fig. 2, U).
Remarks. The new genus and species belongs to the subfamily Vaunthompsoniinae because of the number of exopods in males being more than one, and its general habitus is similar to the genus Vaunthompsonia Bate, 1858. The shape of pleonite 6 being well produced between the uropod peduncles, the short pseudorostrum, and the ocular lobe with eye lenses are characters which Vaunthompsonia, Sympodomma and Pseudosympodomma also have.
The distal prolongation at the basis of maxilliped 3, however, is also common in Pseudosympodomma and Sympodomma, but not typical in the genus Vaunthompsonia, here being present only in Vaunthompsonia meridionalis Sars, 1887 and reaching in this species no further than to the ischium-merus articulation. In the present new species it reaches beyond the middle of the merus, however, no species of this genus has a prolongation at the distal edge of the merus. The first pedigerous segment is not visible in Paravaunthompsonia meteorae sp. nov. but clearly visible, although often very short, in the genera Sympodomma and Vaunthompsonia, and in Pseudosympodomma it is well exposed or visible at least above the lateral midline. The pseudorostral lobes meet in a point in the new genus, do not meet in Sympodomma and meet at the midline in Pseudosympodomma and Vaunthompsonia. A new genus is erected in order to avoid confusion in the taxonomy of the genera Pseudosympodomma, Sympodomma and Vaunthompsonia
description: Published as part of Mühlenhardt-Siegel, Ute, 2008, The Cumacea of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with the description of four new species and one genus, pp. 1-17 in Zootaxa 1828 on pages 3-5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.183131