Nuberis Bamber & Marshall, 2015, gen. nov.

Genus Nuberis gen. nov.

Diagnosis: Female: Leptocheliin with antennule three-articled, without distinct flagellum. Antenna second peduncular article with slender ventral and dorsal spines, third article with slender dorsodistal spine. Maxilliped endite outer two distal spines pointed, inner spine rounded. Cheliped dactylus with inner proximal seta. Pleopod rami with predominantly distal setae; no inner seta on endopod. Uropod exopod two-segmented.

Type species. Nuberis areolaticola sp. nov. by original designation.

Etymology. Nuberis is an anagram of Brunei with an added euphonious ‘s’.

Gender. Feminine.

Remarks. Prior to the species of Nuberis gen.nov. described in the present paper, the only leptocheliid with pointed distal maxilliped-endite spines was Catenarius daviei Bamber, 2008, which also has a two-segmented uropod exopod; however, that species has an antennule with five articles including two flagellum segments (characterizing it in the subfamily Catenariinae Bamber, 2013), as well as very reduced spination on the carpi of the posterior pereopods. Brunarus colekanus described above has a similar maxilliped endite spination to the present species, as well as a two-segmented uropod exopod, but is clearly a konariin, which the present species, equally clearly, is not. Characteristics of the Heterotanaidinae Larsen & Wilson, 2002 are at present unclear, as is the composition of the subfamily, but Nuberis shows no particular affinity to Heterotanais Sars, 1882, or to Pseudonototanais Lang, 1973, Makassaritanais Guţu, 2012 or Ogleus Morales-Nuňez & Heard, 2013. The morphology of the maxilliped endite and the pleopods distinguish this taxon from any existing genus in the Leptocheliinae.