Shallow water Tanaidae (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) of Australia

Abstract

Investigation of shallow reef habitats around Australia revealed an extremely rich tanaid (Crustacea: Tanaidacea: Tanaidae) fauna. A total of 21 species in the family are now recognised from the Australian continent and Tasmania— about one-third of tanaids known worldwide. In this study, 15 species are diagnosed, including a new genus, Austrotanais g. sp., and twelve new species, Austrotanais rileyi n. sp., Sinelobus barretti g. sp., Zeuxoides lasti n. sp., Zeuxoides lauriebourqueae n. sp., Zeuxoides mawbeyi n. sp., Zeuxo russi n. sp., Zeuxo belli n. sp., Zeuxo kirkmani n. sp., Zeuxo odohertyae n. sp., Zeuxo mooneyi n. sp., Zeuxo shepherdi n. sp. and Pancoloides moverleyi n. sp. Keys are provided to local genera and species.

Another inordinate fondness†: diversity of the tanaidacean fauna of Australia, with description of three new taxa

“…Notably, the three Australian localities also demonstrate high diversity between themselves: the Brisbane fauna (Moreton Bay) has only one species in common with Esperance (and two also found in New South Wales); the Bass Strait fauna includes two species in common with Esperance and a different two in common with Brisbane, with a further four also found in New South Wales. These data support current thinking that, in a taxon where there is no obligate dispersive phase, cosmopolitanism is not found in tanaidomorph tanaidaceans; presumptions promulgated in the last century of widespread species in such genera as Leptochelia, Sinelobus and Hexapleomera are sequentially being disproved (Edgar 2008;Bamber 2008aBamber , 2010Bamber , 2012. Rather, allopatric speciation, niche specificity and sympatric associations of sibling species are common (e.g.…”

“…Most recent studies in Australian waters (Larsen 2001;Bamber 2005Bamber , 2008aGuţu 2006;Błażewicz-Paszkowycz and Bamber 2007a, 2007b, 2009, 2012Edgar 2008) have found an extraordinary diversity and dominance of Tanaidacea when compared with other parts of the world. For example, Holdich and Jones (1983) listed 28 species in 20 genera for the long-studied British waters (although more recent studies have expanded this list significantly, including knowledge of unpublished taxa, e.g.…”

New species of the genus Zeuxo (Peracarida, Tanaidacea)

“…TAXONOMY Order TANAIDACEA Dana, 1849 Suborder TANAIDOMORPHA Sieg, 1980 Superfamily TANAOIDEA Lang, 1949 Eamily TANAIDAE Dana, 1849 Genus Zeuxo Templeton, 1840 For synonymy see Sieg (1980). Revised diagnosis (modified after Edgar, 2008).-Five pleonites present plus pleotelson. Antennule with four articles, first article over 2.5 times as long as second article, terminal article with two to eight aesthestascs.…”

“…The genus was originally described by Templeton (1840) and currently contains at least 31 species, including the additions/alterations made in this paper, but will definitely reveal more species in the future. In his monograph on the superfamily Tanaoidea, Sieg (1980) thoroughly revised the genus, but many new species have been recorded since then (Kudinova-Pastemak, 1989;Bamber, 1990Bamber, , 2005Bamber, , 2006Bamber, , 2008Bamber, , 2012aBamber & Bird, 1997;Edgar, 2008;Bamber & Chatterjee, 2010).…”

“…normani, from Japan (Shiino, 1951), Z. edgari n. sp. from Australia (Edgar, 2008), Z. koreaensis n. sp. from Korea and Z. holdichi from Brittany, Spain and Erance (Bamber, 1990;Larsen et al, 2014).…”