Anatanaini Sieg, 1980

Bird, Graham J, 2008, Untying the Gordian Knot: on Tanais novaezealandiae Thomson (Crustacea, Tanaidacea, Tanaidae) from New Zealand, with descriptions of two new Zeuxoides species, Zootaxa 1877, pp. 1-36 : 6

Tribe Anatanaini Sieg, 1980

Remarks: In 1980 Jurgen Sieg published an epic monograph on this complex family in which four new subfamilies, nine new genera and ten new species were established or described; more or less contemporaneously, Sieg & Winn (1981) described a new species of Anatanais and offered a key in English to the identification of Tanaidae genera.

Using a phylogenetic system several sub-families were identified by Sieg (op.cit.), one of which, the Pancolinae , included the tribes Pancolini and Anatanaini ; the last is characterised by no indication of fusion of pleonite-5 with the pleotelson, the third pair of pleopods not being smaller than pleopods 1–2 and the labial palp not being as reduced.

In view of these difficult distinctions between the size and fusion of the labial palp and the hypothetical sequences of pleonite fusion it is desirable that alternative phylogenetic trees for the Tanaidae should be investigated and there are distinct possibilities associated with antennal, antennular and maxilliped setation, male cheliped form, etc. Until these phylogenetically useful and appropriate characters are fully appraised, including those used by Sieg, the current classification is maintained. Since 1980 about three new tanaid genera and 23 new species have been described, with little or no alteration to Sieg’s classification.