Protolembos Myers, 1988

Ariyama, Hiroyuki & Kodama, Masafumi, 2024, Three species of the family Aoridae Stebbing, 1899 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) collected from remote islands in southern Japan, with a key to all Japanese species of the family, Zootaxa 5433 (4), pp. 500-528 : 503

Protolembos Myers, 1988

[Japanese name: Minami-maeashi-yokokoebi-zoku, new]

Protolembos Myers, 1988a: 190 .— Myers, 1988b: 313.—J.L. Barnard & Karaman, 1991: 227.— Myers & Lowry, 2003: 465.

Type species. Lembos chiltoni Myers, 1981 , monotypy.

Diagnosis [after Myers (1988a)]. Mandibular palp article 3 longer than article 2, ventral margin straight or sinuous, marginal setae of two distinct lengths, but terminal setae longer; left mandibular molar with complex, rounded, subsimilar plates; maxilliped basis with strong flange; male gnathopod 1 with propodus enlarged, longer than carpus; female gnathopod 1 not like that of male; uropod 3 peduncle short, expanded, outer ramus with long marginal setae and extremely long distal setae and with small second article.

Included species (11). Protolembos arinyas Myers, 1988 ; P. chiltoni (Myers, 1981) ; P. clematis ( Moore, 1987) ; P. crouyensis Myers, 1998 ; P. drummondae Myers, 1988 ; P. kidoli (Myers, 1975) ; P. murrarum Myers, 1988 : P. ryukyuensis sp. nov.; P. tegulapodos Myers, 2002 ; P. verrucularum ( Moore, 1987) ; and P. yaranus Myers, 1988 .

Remarks. This genus is characterized mainly by the maxilliped with a strong flange only on the laterodistal corner of basis. Lembos also has flanges of the maxilliped ( Table 1 ), but the flanges are situated on the lateral margins of basis and outer plate in L. hypacanthus K.H. Barnard, 1916 ( Myers & Lyons 1987) or those of basis, outer plate and palp article 1 in L. websteri Bate, 1857 ( Myers 1988a).