Platytyphlops Stebbing 1912

Platytyphlops Stebbing, 1912

Platytyphlops Stebbing, 1912: 159.

Paralamprops.— Sars, 1887 (in part): 6, 26. — Calman, 1912: 631, 634, fig. 29–39.— Day, 1978: 146–148.

Type species. Platytyphlops peringueyi Stebbing, 1912, by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Carapace dorsoventrally flattened, marginal carina present, eyelobe present, pseudorostral lobes short, blunt. Antennule flagella well developed, accessory flagellum at least 0.5 length of main flagellum. Mandible navicular. Maxillule palp with 2 setae. Pereopod 1 slender. Pereopod 5 shorter than basis of pereopod 4. Telson long, at least 2/3 length of uropod peduncles. Uropod endopod of 3 articles. Uropod exopod article 1 0.2 length of article 2, or less. Female with fully developed exopod on pereopod 2, rudimentary or absent exopods on pereopods 3–4, without pleopods. Male with long antenna, extending past pereon, without penial lobes, with 3 pairs of pleopods. Gender masculine.

Species. Platytyphlops arafurensis (Jones, 1969) n. comb., P. asperus (Zimmer, 1907) n. comb., P. bamberi n. sp., P. carpusserratus (Mühlenhardt-Siegel, 2005) n. comb., P.cherkii (Reyss, 1978a) n. comb., P. corolliferus (Gamô, 1984) n. comb., P. crosnieri (Corbera, 2006) n. comb., P. echinatus n. sp., P. girardi (Reyss, 1978a) n. comb., P. grimaldii (Fage, 1929) n. comb., P.latus (Hale, 1946) n. comb., P. ledoyeri (Reyss, 1978a) n. comb., P. lowryi n. sp., P. mawsoni (Hale, 1937) n. comb., P. orbicularis (Calman, 1905) n. comb., P. peringueyi (Stebbing, 1912) n. comb., P. petrescui n. sp., P. racovitzai (Petrescu & Wittmann, 2003) n. comb., P. rossi (Jones, 1971) n. comb., P. semiornatus (Fage, 1929) n. comb., P. taylorae n. sp., P. tuberculatus (Roccatagliata, 1994) n. comb.

Remarks. The species placed in Platytyphlops resemble Paralamprops, but possess a maxillule palp with 2 setae, and those for which the state of the palp is unknown. When Sars (1887) established Paralamprops, he noted the unusual absence of the maxillule palp. Despite this, species with a palp were ascribed to Paralamprops by Fage (1929), Gamô (1984), Day (1978), Petrescu & Wittmann (2003), and Jones (1971). Most of these authors did not address the issue of the palp, ignoring the absence of the palp as a defining character for the genus. Calman (1912) and Day (1978) did address the issue of the palp, acknowledging the taxonomic significance of the palp absence. However, while both Calman (1912) and Day (1978) suggested that Paralamprops should be separated into two genera, those with and without the palp, neither of them did so, and in fact Day synonymized Platytyphlops, a genus with a maxillupe palp with 2 setae, with Paralamprops. Day’s (1978) justification for mixing species with a palp and without a palp in the genus Paralamprops sensu lato was the difficulty in accessing the character as well as the lack of information for some species. However, both of these difficulties exist for mature male characters used in generic definitions, when it is very common in the Cumacea to encounter only females or immature males. However, the male characters are utilized because they are seen as of considerable systematic value, as is the palp. In keeping with Sars’ (1887) original concept of Paralamprops as lacking a maxillule palp, all species placed in Paralamprops to date that possess the palp are removed to Platytyphlops. As the basal state of the maxillule palp is to be present and with 2 setae, it is most conservative to assume that species in which the state of the palp is unknown possess a palp with 2 setae. Thus, species formerly placed in Paralamprops in which the state of the palp is unknown are also included in the genus.