| Nautilocaris saintlaurentae gen. nov, sp. nov, is described and illustrated from hydrothermal vents in the North Fiji Basin and Lau Basin in the south-western Pacific. This new taxon is assigned to the Alvinocarididae. It has a well-developed, dorsally dentate rostrum, carapace with pterygostomian spine present, eye broadly fused mesially, epipod-setobranch complex present above pereopods, and appendix internae on second to fourth pleopods greatly reduced. This combination of characters places it in an intermediate position between a group of species in the genus Alvinocaris with well developed, dorsally, dentate rostrum, carapace with pterygostomian spine present, eyes narrowly fused mesially, epipod-setobranch complex absent and well-developed appendices... |
