Bird, G. J.; Błażewicz, M. (2025). A new deep-sea crustacean family of Tanaidacea is established from Aotearoa New Zealand and Southeast Australia based principally on morphology. Scientific Reports. 15(1).
A new deep-sea crustacean family of Tanaidacea is established from Aotearoa New Zealand and Southeast Australia based principally on morphology
Scientific Reports
15(1)
Publication
We establish a new deep-sea tanaidacean family, Arthruridae n. fam., separated from the family
Tanaellidae Larsen and Wilson, 2002, and based on a morphology-based phylogenetic analysis.
This new taxon is supported by molecular evidence from a recent study of the newly described
Caudalongidae Blazewicz & Bird 2024. Arthrurids resemble tanaellids such as Tanaella Norman &
Stebbing, 1886 with their robust bodies, or Arhaphuroides Sieg, 1986 with their fused projecting
uropod exopod, but also exhibit some agathotanaid-like features. These include the pereonite
shape, pleon-pleotelson configuration, and pereopod morphology that are absent in the more
diverse Tanaellidae, but arthrurids have a more plesiomorphic cheliped-cephalothorax articulation
compared to those in the Agathotanaidae Lang, 1971. A large epignath seta, large coxal sclerite on
the cephalothorax, and sticklike pereopods are among characters distinguishing the Arthruridae
from most tanaellids. Two new genera are established, Arthruropsis n. gen. and Paralibanius n. gen.,
with the former tanaellid Arhaphuroides bombus Larsen, 2005, transferred to Arthruropsis n. gen. Six
new species from bathyal New Zealand waters are described, Libanius concertator n. sp., L. intonsus
n. sp., L. largitas n. sp., L. projectus n. sp., L. tangaroa n. sp., and Paralibanius taitonga n. sp., along
with three from the southeastern Australia slope, Libanius australis n. sp., L. brevicarpus n. sp., and L.
clisicola n. sp. We provide a key to the 13 known arthrurid species.