Lepidepecreoides nubifer J. L. Barnard 1971

Lepidepecreoides nubifer

DESCRIPTION.—Lateral cephalic lobes acute, slightly asymmetric, deeper below than above, well projecting; eyes absent; article 1 of antenna 1 rather slender for the genus, lacking keel or distal process, first peduncular article longer than flagellum, accessory flagellum 2-articulate; antenna 2 short, flagellum shorter than peduncle; anterior margins of epistome and upper lip from lateral view rather flat, demarcated by a notch; upper lip from anterior view with rounded and narrowly lobed ventral margin; coxa 4 slender and posteroventral lobe small; coxa 5 with subacute, slightly reverted anterior lobe; gnathopod 1 slender, article 6 scarcely expanded, anterior and posterior edges parallel, palm distinct, bounded by 2 spines; gnathopod 2 with well-developed dactyl attached about mediodistally to article 6, palm slightly chelate and broad; pereopod 3 shorter than 4, article 2 with 2 large processes, one slender, blunt horizontal posterior spur and a broader posteroventral process; article 2 of pereopod 5 with symmetrically convex posterior edge, posteroventral lobe rather narrow but poorly extended, posterior serrations of medium size; pleonal epimera 1–2 with bluntly projecting anteroventral margin, epimeron 3 with rounded-quadrate posteroventral corner, lacking process; pleonite 4 with large, erect, slightly reverted, acute dorsal process; telson long, lobes slender, acute, each armed distally with 2 (? or 1) spines.

Gills of pereonites 5 and 6 each with accessory sausage-shaped pendant lobe. Mouthparts not mentioned in diagnosis typical of the genus except where illustrated for minor details; outer lobe of maxilla 2 with 9 spines, 3 of which are small.

HOLOTYPE.—USNM 127132, male, 13.5 mm. Unique.

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Station 68, 44°38.3′N, 126° 01.0′W, 2,860 m, 21 May 1964.

RELATIONSHIP.—The type-species, L. xenopus K. H. Barnard (1932), differs from L. nubifer in the much shorter ocular lobes, the presence of a dorsal tooth on pleonite 3 as well as pleonite 4, a rudimentary anterior lobe on coxa 5, a narrowed posterior lobe on coxa 6 and in the presence of small teeth on coxae 1–3. In L. xenopus the posterior spur on pereopod 3 is long and sharp in juveniles and short and blunt in adults.

DISTRIBUTION.—Oregon, 2,860 m.