A new species ascribed to a new genus of Eusiridae, Dorotea papuana gen. nov., sp. nov. is described from bathyal bottoms of the Solomon Sea (Papua New Guinea). Closely related to the genus Cleonardo, this new genus can be distinguished from most other known eusirid genera by the presence of a telson distally cleft and distinctly bilobate, of a distal spiniform process on uropod 1 peduncle and of a simple, stout and medium length dactylus on pereopods 5–7. The combination of all these characters can be considered relevant for the affiliation of this species to a new genus within Eusiridae. Due to its very close morphological affinity to Dorotea gen. nov., the bathyal sub-Antarctic species Eusiroides aberrantis Bellan-Santini & Ledoyer, 1987 cannot be maintained in the family Pontogeneiidae and it should be transferred to the family Eusiridae.

MADEEP

Within the hyper-diverse group of the amphipods, little is known about deep-sea benthic species that still represent an unknown reservoir of species to be discovered, particularly in remote regions of the southwestern Pacific. Herein, we are describing three new deep-sea species of Rhachotropis from Papua New Guinea, Solomon archipelago, and Vanuatu using an integrative taxonomy approach, combining morphological and molecular characters with biological and ecological information. Nomenclatural comments and a key to Rhachotropis species occurring in the bathyal provinces from the southwestern Pacific are also provided. Comments on the sex ratio and fecundity of the genus are also discussed. The biogeography and distribution of the newly described species as well as congeneric species occurring in the area are discussed, and new DNA data are shedding new light on the global phylogenetic relationships (geography, depth range) of the deep-sea genus Rhachotropis.

BIOPAPUA, KAVIENG 2014, PAPUA NIUGINI