Genus Pallenella Schimkewitsch, 1909

Museums

Regional Maps

• Pallenella Schimkewitsch, W. 1909. Nochmals uber die Periodicitat in dem Systemder Pantopoden. Zoologischer Anzeiger 34(1): 1-13.

  Type species:

   Pallene laevis Hoek, 1881 by original designation.
• Meridionale Staples, D.A. 2014. A revision of the callipallenid genus Pseudopallene Wilson, 1878 (Pycnogonida, Callipallenidae). Zootaxa 3765(4): 339-359 [346].

  Type species:

   Pallene laevis Hoek, 1881 by original designation.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Brenneis, G., Arango, C.P., Sharma, P.P. & Schwentner, M. 2020. The more the merrier: unparalleled sympatric species richness in a sea spider genus (Pycnogonida : Callipallenidae : Pallenella) from Tasmanian waters. Invertebrate Systematics 34(8): 837–870

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition (32), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41), Central Western Transition (5)

Diagnosis

The similarity and few morphological characters seen within this genus mean species delineation is challenging. A key identification tool can be the colouration of living specimens. For preserved specimens, Brenneis et al. (2020) provide a diagnostic key using multiple characters. Morphological ambiguities remain for P. (cf.) ambigua and P. harrisi. The taxa Pallenella dubia (Clark, 1963) remains taxon inquirendum due to there being no identifiable adults for morphological diagnosis.

Diagnosis References

Brenneis, G., Arango, C.P., Sharma, P.P. & Schwentner, M. 2020. The more the merrier: unparalleled sympatric species richness in a sea spider genus (Pycnogonida : Callipallenidae : Pallenella) from Tasmanian waters. Invertebrate Systematics 34(8): 837–870

Notes

This genus was resurrected by Brenneis et al. 2020, to replace Meridionale Staples, 2014. Both were discribed based on the same type species P. laevis.

History of changes