Tanaidaceans (Crustacea) from the Central Pacific Manganese Nodule Province. I. The genera Collettea, Robustochelia and Tumidochelia

Three new species of are described from the manganese nodule province between the Clarion and the Clipperton Fracture Zone of the equatorial North Pacific Ocean, and collected during the Nodinaut expedition on board the r/v l'Atalante in the summer of 2004. The new species belongs to three genera as: Collettea (C. longisetosa), Robustochelia (R. pacifica), and Tumidochelia (T tuberculata). A key to the genus Tumidochelia is presented and the validity of the genera Robustochelia and Collettea is discussed.