Holodentata, Doti, Brenda Lía, Choudhury, Madhumita & Brandt, Angelika, 2009

Doti, Brenda Lía, Choudhury, Madhumita & Brandt, Angelika, 2009, Holodentata gen. nov. (Isopoda: Asellota: Paramunnidae) with a description of two new species: H. caeca and H. triangulata from the Southern Ocean *, Zootaxa 2096 (1), pp. 395-412 : 397

Holodentata gen. nov.

Type species: Paramunna gaussi Vanhöffen, 1914

Species included: Holodentata gaussi ( Vanhöffen, 1914) , comb. nov.; H. caeca sp. nov.; and H. triangulata sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Head with eyestalks, with or without ommatida. Lateral margins of eyestalks, pereonites, pleotelson and coxal plates surrounded with denticles. Article 3 of the antenna short and with strong denticles. Mandibular palp absent. Article 2 of maxilliped palp longest. Coxal plates visible in dorsal view in all the pereonites. Pereopod 1 carpus oval with 2 robust setae on ventral margin. Pereopods 2–7 without supplementary claw. Uropod biramous without protopod.

Etymology. The genus name is combined from Greek holos meaning entirely and Latin dentatus meaning toothed, alluding to the denticles of the lateral margins of the pereonites, pleotelson and coxal plates.

Remarks. The most striking character of the genus Holodentata is the fact that the second article of the maxillipedal palp is the longest article. This feature has never been reported before in any other genus of the family Paramunnidae . Four other genera of Paramunnidae show coxal plates process-like, viz., Antennulosignum Nordenstam, 1933 ; Austrogonium Menzies & George, 1972 ; Bathygonium Kussakin & Vasina, 1984 and Pleurosignum Vanhöffen, 1914 . However, Holodentata can easily be distinguished from those genera, as all the coxal plates possess denticles. Some members of the genus Pleurogonium Sars G.O., 1883 also have coxal plates process-like with denticles, but they differ from Holodentata in the absence of eyestalks and pleotelson laterally smooth.

Geographic distribution. Species of the genus Holodentata have only been found in the Southern Ocean; H. gaussi was originally described from Wilkes Land (385 m), H. caeca sp. nov. was collected in the Powell Basin (1584 m), Weddell Sea and H. triangulata sp. nov. was found at different stations around Cape Hallett (84–353 m), Ross Sea.