A new genus and two new species of Caprellidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from mesophotic and deep-sea waters of Australia

Abstract

Caprellids from mesophotic and deep-sea waters from Australia have been scarcely studied. A new genus Pseudoliropus gen. nov., and two new species Pseudoliropus keablei and Pseudoprotella australiensis sp. nov. are described based on material collected from 56 to 1125 m deep during surveys on board the vessels RV Sprightly (1973), FRV Kapala (1977–1986) and RV Southern Surveyor (2005) along the coast of the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Pseudoliropus is superficially very close to Liropus but can be readily distinguished by the absence of a mandibular molar (present in Liropus) and 2-articulate mandibular palp (3-articulate in Liropus). Pseudoprotella australiensis can be differentiated from all the remaining species of Pseudoprotella mainly on the basis of the unique body ornamentation (acute projection on the head, pereonites with abundant tiny tubercles scattered over the surface, and rows of lateral tubercles on the proximal end of pereonites 2–4). Further collections in deep ecosystems are mandatory to properly understand global amphipod diversity in Australian waters.