Priorhyncha n. gen.

Type species: Priorhyncha feitosai n. gen. n. sp.

Diagnosis: Carapace with antennal spine, otherwise smooth. Rostrum short, serrated, with 10 short dorsal spines, without spines ventrally, slightly longer than eye; cervical groove of the gastric region short, well-marked.

Etymology: The name Priorhyncha is a combination of the Greek words pryos (serrated) and rhynchos (nose, rostrum). Gender feminine.

Remarks: Priorhyncha n. gen. can be included in the family Solenoceridae based upon its short, dorsally dentate rostrum with smooth ventral margin and the well-defined cervical groove. Priorhyncha n. gen. differs from other Solenoceridae in having a rostrum slightly longer than its eye (the rostrum is much longer than the eye in Haliporoides Stebbing, 1914; Haliporus Bate, 1881; and Pleoticus Bate, 1881). Priorhyncha n. gen. superficially resembles the recent genera Hymenopenaeus Smith, 1882, and Pleoticus; however, in Priorhyncha n. gen., the hepatic region is apparently smooth, whereas Hymenopenaeus and Pleoticus have marked hepatic carinae. The rostrum of Priorhyncha n. gen is similar in size to Cryptopenaeus De Freitas, 1979, and Solenocera Lucas, 1849; however, Priorhyncha n. gen. has a shorter cervical groove, without a hepatic groove or submarginal carina (the cervical groove is longer in Cryptopenaeus and Solenocera, a hepatic groove is present in Solenocera, and a submarginal carina is present in Cryptopenaeus).

Priorhyncha n. gen. can be differentiated from the fossil Archeosolenocera Carriol & Riou, 1991, and Eogordonella Garassino, Bahrami, Yazdi & Vega, 2014, by its smooth carapace with only a marked cervical groove (hepatic, cervical, and antennal grooves are present in Archeosolenocera; hepatic, branchiocardiac, and submarginal carinae are present in Eogordonella).

These differences allow us to describe the new genus and include it in Solenoceridae although some of characteristics could be a result of taphonomic problems. Nevertheless, for now, Solenoceridae is the most suitable family to include Priorhyncha n. gen.