| Abstract |
The crangonid genus Lissosabinea Christoffersen, 1988 was established to accommodate two rare deep-water species: Sabinea indica De Man, 1918 and S. tridentata Pequegnat, 1970 (type species). A study of collections made by French expeditions to the western Pacific, supplemented by material from other sources (including types of both known species), has led to a review of the genus. This Study shows that the hypothesis placing Lissosabinea as a sister group of a clade containing three genera: Vercoia, Prionocrangon and Paracrangon, was derived from an insufficient character analysis. Lissosabinea appears most closely related to Sabinea, as suggested by the original generic assignment of the two known species. Lissosabinea maintains full generic status, as the species referred to the genus are clearly differentiated from the three species assigned to Sabinea by a number of morphological characters. Three new species of Lissosabinea are described: L. armata n. sp. from New Caledonia; L. ecarina n. sp. from the Philippines and Indonesia, and L. unispinosa n. sp. from New Caledonia and Tonga. The two known species are redescribed, and L. indica is newly recorded from New Caledonia. The barhymetric and geographic ranges of the species are briefly discussed. A key to the identification of the species of the genus is presented. |
