Genus Alexandrella Chevreux, 1911

Alexandrella Chevreux, 1911: 1167.— Chevreux, 1912: 213.— Holman & Watling, 1983: 32.— Berge & Vader, 2005: 1328 (key).

Parandaniexis Nicholls, 1938: 42 [homonym of Parandaniexis Schellenberg, 1929].

Pseudandaniexis Nicholls, 1938, corrigendum [replacement name for Parandaniexis Nicholls, 1938 non Schellenberg, 1929].

Type species. Alexandrella dentata Chevreux, 1912.

Species. Alexandrella australis (Chilton, 1912); A. dentata Chevreux, 1912 (= A. mixta (Nicholls, 1938)); A. inermis Bellan-Santini & Ledoyer, 1986; A. mandibulata Berge & Vader, 2005; A. martae Berge & Vader, 2005; Alexandrella setosa sp. nov.; A. subchelata Holman & Watling, 1983.

Remarks. Berge and Vader (2005) pointed out how similar Alexandrella is to Bathypanoplea and that the only character that may distinguish these two genera, the presence of a rudimentary mandibular molar in Bathypanoplea is in fact present in Alexandrella dentata, thereby removing this character as distinctive for both genera. A broader revision of the family by these authors was suggested but still not concluded, so both genera are still valid.

All Alexandrella species occur in Antarctic and Subantarctic waters, two of them with extended distributions. Alexandrella dentata was also found in the Kermadec Trench and A. subchelata was found in Australia (Great Australian Bight) and New Zealand (De Broyer et al. 2007). This is the first record of Alexandrella in the deep sea Atlantic, outside the Southern Ocean limits.