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Issue: Vol. 5824 No. 1: 4 Jun. 2026
Type: Monograph
Published: 2026-06-04
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5824.1.1
Page range: 1-89
Abstract views: 25
PDF downloaded: 0

Discovery of new shelf and bathyal Tanaellidae Larsen & Wilson, 2002 (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Ross Sea. I. Tanaella and allied genera

Waikanae; Kâpiti; 5036; New Zealand.
Crustacea Acatanaella Arhaphuropsis Cryptotanaella Inconnivus Peritanaella Tanaella Tanarthrella deep-sea Ocean Census peracarids taxonomy Bounty Trough Chatham Rise Challenger Plateau Hikurangi Margin Kaikoura Canyon Ross Sea Tasman Sea

Abstract

The tanaidacean family Tanaellidae Larsen & Wilson, 2002 from shelf and bathyal waters around Aotearoa New Zealand and the western Ross Sea, Antarctica is examined, although the genera included here are more similar to the type genus Tanaella Norman & Stebbing, 1886, than to Araphura Bird & Holdich, 1984. Partly with inferences from morphology-based phylogenetic analyses, five new genera are described: Acatanaella gen. nov., Arhaphuropsis gen. nov., Cryptotanaella gen. nov., Peritanaella gen. nov., and Tanarthrella gen. nov. Characters centred on the antennule, presence of pleopods in females, shape of the pleotelson, and structure of the uropod are the most useful for distinguishing the genera. Nine new tanaellid species are also described: Acatanaella speciosa sp. nov., Arhaphuropsis bathymylon sp. nov., Cryptotanaella census sp. nov., Inconnivus magdalenae sp. nov., Peritanaella labidura sp. nov., Peritanaella pumila sp. nov., Peritanaella stiphrocarpus sp. nov., Tanaella eumekes sp. nov., and Tanarthrella scitula sp. nov. Two other morphospecies are reported but not described. Tanaellids are shown to be regular contributors to the biodiversity of NZ’s deep-sea bathyal fauna, representing about 10–12% of the tanaidomorphan assemblages. Their phylogeny remains unresolved, and the family may still be paraphyletic.

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How to Cite

Bird, G.J. (2026) Discovery of new shelf and bathyal Tanaellidae Larsen & Wilson, 2002 (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Ross Sea. I. Tanaella and allied genera. Zootaxa, 5824 (1), 1–89. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5824.1.1