Notoprotella Takeuchi & Lowry 2019, gen. nov.

Genus Notoprotella gen. nov.

Diagnosis

Head fused (suture present) with pereonite 1. Antenna 1 well developed; flagellum with more than 2 articles. Antenna 2 well developed; flagellum with 2 articles. Mandible well developed; molar presentı well developed; palp 3-articulateı setal formula 1 – x – 1 or 1 – x – y – 1. Maxilliped well developed; inner plate (basal endite) smaller than outer plate (ischial endite); outer plate (ischial endite) well developed; palp article 3 without distal projection; palp article 4 well developed. Pereonite 4 clavate appendage absent. Pereonites 6 and 7 dorsal suture oblique or separated. Pereopod 3 vestigialı with 1 – 2 articles. Pereopod 4 vestigialı with 1 – 2 articles. Pereopod 5 well developedı with 7 articlesı with sparseı short setaeı with well-developed dactylus. Pereopods 6 and 7 well developedı with 7 articles. Gills on pereonites 3 and 4. Pleopods absent. Uropods 2 pairs. Uropod 1 uniramous. Uropod 2 vestigial (unclear). Telson (dorsal lobe) present.

Type species

Notoprotella cornuta sp. nov. by present designation.

Included species

Notoprotella includes 7 species: N. berentsae (Takeuchi and Lowryı 2007b); N. cornuta sp. nov.; N. gordoni (Guilerı 1954); N. pearce (Guerra-Garcíaı 2006); N. tasmaniensis (Guilerı 1954); N. tuberculata (Guerra-García and Takeuchiı 2004); N. sp. from New South Wales (present study).

Etymology

A compound word is derived from noto meaning ‘ south ’ ı and Protella. Genderı feminine.

Remarks

Notoprotella gen. nov. most closely resembles the genera Protella Danaı 1852 and Orthoprotella Mayerı 1903 (Table 1).

Recentlyı Takeuchi et al. (2014) redescribed the old type material of Protella gracilis Danaı 1853 deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoologyı Harvard Universityı collected from the Balabac Straitı the Philippines. Protella gracilis is the type species of Protella which is one of the fundamental genera established during the nineteenth century in the Caprellidae. They found that Protella possesses a unique diagnosis: the presence of a knob-like appendage on uropod 1. Notoprotella gen. nov. differs from Protella in lacking this knob-like appendage (Table 1).

The generic diagnosis of Orthoprotella is refined based on the redescription of Orthoprotella australis (Haswellı 1879) ı type species of Orthoprotella ı in this study (see remarks of Orthoprotella Mayerı 1903 and Orthoprotella australis (Haswellı 1879)). Notoprotella gen. nov. differs from Orthoprotella by the following generic diagnosis in males: in Notoprotella gen. nov. the third article of the maxilliped palp is without distal projectionı which is present in Orthoprotella (see remarks of Orthoprotella) (Table 1).

The description and figures for Orthoprotella berentsae Takeuchi and Lowryı 2007b (see Takeuchi and Lowry 2007b)ı O. gordoni Guilerı 1954 (see Figures 11 ı 12)ı O. pearce Guerra-Garcíaı 2006 (see Guerra-García 2006)ı O. tasmaniensis Guilerı 1954 (see Guerra- García and Takeuchi 2004) and O. tuberculata Guerra-García and Takeuchiı 2004 (see Guerra-García and Takeuchi 2004) agree well with the above generic diagnosis of Notoprotella gen. nov. Thusı these five speciesı including O. berentsae and O. gordoni ı are moved to Notoprotella.

All seven species of Notoprotella gen. nov. are recorded as distributed from Tasmania to the Queensland coast of eastern Australia. Thusı the distribution of Notoprotella overlaps in the south with that of Protella and Orthoprotella.

Four species have been so far described in the genus Protella: P. amamiensis Takeuchi et al. 2014 ı P. gracilis Danaı 1853 ı P. similis Mayerı 1903 and P. trilobata McCain and Grayı 1971. While P. trilobata was recorded from south of Falkland Islands in Sub-Antarcticaı the other three species including the type species (P. gracilis) are distributed from south of Japan to Indonesia. Seven species have been so far recorded in Orthoprotella (see remarks of Orthoprotella). Species of Orthoprotella are distributed mainly from south of Japan to Western Australia and Tasmania in the Indo-Pacific and in South Africa (O. mayeri K.H. Barnard 1916) and Brazil (O. melloi Quiteteı 1975).