Copepoda taxon details
Leptameira Huys, 2009
549184 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:549184)
accepted
Genus
Leptomesochra confluens (Sars G.O., 1911) accepted as Leptomesochra confluens Sars G.O., 1911 (type by original designation)
Leptameira Lang, 1936 · unaccepted
- Species Leptameira attenuata (Nicholls, 1939)
- Species Leptameira eremeensis (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008)
- Species Leptameira hirsuta (Wiborg, 1964)
- Species Leptameira infima (Monard, 1928)
- Species Leptameira kunzi (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008)
- Species Leptameira macintoshi (Scott T. & Scott A., 1895)
- Species Leptameira nasuta (Sewell, 1940)
- Species Leptameira theodoridis (Soyer, 1966)
- Species Leptameira confluens (Sars G.O., 1911) accepted as Leptomesochra confluens Sars G.O., 1911
marine
Huys, R. (2009). Unresolved cases of type fixation, synonymy and homonymy in harpacticoid copepod nomenclature (Crustacea: Copepoda). <em>Zootaxa.</em> 2183:1-99., available online at http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/2/zt02183p099.pdf [details] Available for editors 
[request]
[request]
Taxonomic remark According to Huys (2009):
1) Sars (1911) proposed Leptomesochra for Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895, Normanella...
Taxonomy
Sars (1911b: 418) proposed the genus Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b to accommodate Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b...
1) Sars (1911) proposed Leptomesochra for Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895, Normanella...
Taxonomic remark According to Huys (2009):
1) Sars (1911) proposed Leptomesochra for Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895, Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, Leptomesochra tenuicornis Sars, 1911, and Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911; but he did not fix the type species, rendering the genus name Leptomesochra unavailable.
2) Lang (1936) proposed the genus name Leptameira with Leptomesochra confluens as the type species, but did not include a diagnosis for Leptameira, rendering the genus name unavailable. Later, Nicholls (1939) added Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939, and gave the diagnostic features to differentiate Leptameira, but he failed in fixing the type species, rendering the genus name unavailable one more time.
3) Lang (1944) relegated Leptameira to a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra, but the designation of Mesochra macintoshi as the type species of Leptomesochra was also invalid, rendering the genus name Leptomesochra unavailable again.
4) It was Vervoort (1964) who validly fixed Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896 as the type species, and included Leptomesochra nasuta Sewell, 1940, Leptomesochra africana Kunz, 1951, Leptomesochra eulitoralis Noodt, 1952, Leptomseochra elongata Bozic, 1955, Leptomesochra pygmaea Vervoort, 1964 and Leptomesochra nichollsi Noodt, 1955, the latter is a substitute name of Leptomesochra attenuata (Nicholls, 1939), a secondary homonym of Leptomesochra attenuata (Scott A., 1896).
5) Lang (1965) revised the genus Leptomesochra and divided it into three genera:
- Praeleptomesochra Lang, 1965 (L. africana as the type species, plus Praeleptomesochra similis Lang, 1965, and Leptomesochra pygmaea),
- Leptomesochra Sars, 1911 (Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, Leptomesochra confluens, Leptomesochra infima, and Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939),
- Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 (L. tenicornis as the type species, plus Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, Leptomesochra tenuicornis, Leptomesochra elongata, Leptomesochra eulitoralis and Interleptomesochra reducta Lang, 1965)
Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 became a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911, because Sars (1911) concept of Leptomesochra and Lang's (1965) concept of Interleptomesochra contains Normanella attenuata Scot A., 1896, and the generic concept of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911 coincides with Lang's (1965) diagnosis of Interleoptomesochra.
Two other species were originally added to Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965, Interleptomesochra noodti Galhano, 1968, and Interleptomesochra boguensis Lindgren, 1975. Since Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 is a junior synonym of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911, these two species became Leptomesochra noodti (Galhano, 1968) and Leptomesochra boguensis (Lindgren, 1975). Then, Leptomesochra (with Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, Leptomesochra confluens, Leptomesochra infima, and Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939), became orphaned because its type species, Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, was left in Interleptomesochra.
Huys (2009) made available Lang's (1936) Leptameira with Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911 as the type species, and included Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b = Leptameira macintoshi (Scott & Scott, 1895b) comb. nov., Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911c = Leptameira confluens (Sars, 1911c) comb. nov., Leptomesochra infima Monard, 1928 = Leptameira infima (Monard, 1928) comb. nov., Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939a = Leptameira attenuata (Nicholls, 1939a) comb. nov.; Leptomesochra nasuta Sewell, 1940 = Leptameira nasuta (Sewell, 1940) comb. nov., Leptomesochra hirsuta Wiborg, 1964 = Leptameira hirsuta (Wiborg, 1964) comb. nov., Leptomesochra theodoridis Soyer, 1966 = Leptameira theodoridis (Soyer, 1966) comb. nov., Leptomesochra eremeensis Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008 = Leptameira eremeensis (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008) comb. nov., and Leptomesochra kunzi Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008 = Leptameira kunzi (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008) comb. nov.
[details]
1) Sars (1911) proposed Leptomesochra for Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895, Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, Leptomesochra tenuicornis Sars, 1911, and Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911; but he did not fix the type species, rendering the genus name Leptomesochra unavailable.
2) Lang (1936) proposed the genus name Leptameira with Leptomesochra confluens as the type species, but did not include a diagnosis for Leptameira, rendering the genus name unavailable. Later, Nicholls (1939) added Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939, and gave the diagnostic features to differentiate Leptameira, but he failed in fixing the type species, rendering the genus name unavailable one more time.
3) Lang (1944) relegated Leptameira to a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra, but the designation of Mesochra macintoshi as the type species of Leptomesochra was also invalid, rendering the genus name Leptomesochra unavailable again.
4) It was Vervoort (1964) who validly fixed Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896 as the type species, and included Leptomesochra nasuta Sewell, 1940, Leptomesochra africana Kunz, 1951, Leptomesochra eulitoralis Noodt, 1952, Leptomseochra elongata Bozic, 1955, Leptomesochra pygmaea Vervoort, 1964 and Leptomesochra nichollsi Noodt, 1955, the latter is a substitute name of Leptomesochra attenuata (Nicholls, 1939), a secondary homonym of Leptomesochra attenuata (Scott A., 1896).
5) Lang (1965) revised the genus Leptomesochra and divided it into three genera:
- Praeleptomesochra Lang, 1965 (L. africana as the type species, plus Praeleptomesochra similis Lang, 1965, and Leptomesochra pygmaea),
- Leptomesochra Sars, 1911 (Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, Leptomesochra confluens, Leptomesochra infima, and Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939),
- Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 (L. tenicornis as the type species, plus Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, Leptomesochra tenuicornis, Leptomesochra elongata, Leptomesochra eulitoralis and Interleptomesochra reducta Lang, 1965)
Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 became a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911, because Sars (1911) concept of Leptomesochra and Lang's (1965) concept of Interleptomesochra contains Normanella attenuata Scot A., 1896, and the generic concept of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911 coincides with Lang's (1965) diagnosis of Interleoptomesochra.
Two other species were originally added to Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965, Interleptomesochra noodti Galhano, 1968, and Interleptomesochra boguensis Lindgren, 1975. Since Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 is a junior synonym of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911, these two species became Leptomesochra noodti (Galhano, 1968) and Leptomesochra boguensis (Lindgren, 1975). Then, Leptomesochra (with Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, Leptomesochra confluens, Leptomesochra infima, and Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939), became orphaned because its type species, Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, was left in Interleptomesochra.
Huys (2009) made available Lang's (1936) Leptameira with Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911 as the type species, and included Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b = Leptameira macintoshi (Scott & Scott, 1895b) comb. nov., Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911c = Leptameira confluens (Sars, 1911c) comb. nov., Leptomesochra infima Monard, 1928 = Leptameira infima (Monard, 1928) comb. nov., Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939a = Leptameira attenuata (Nicholls, 1939a) comb. nov.; Leptomesochra nasuta Sewell, 1940 = Leptameira nasuta (Sewell, 1940) comb. nov., Leptomesochra hirsuta Wiborg, 1964 = Leptameira hirsuta (Wiborg, 1964) comb. nov., Leptomesochra theodoridis Soyer, 1966 = Leptameira theodoridis (Soyer, 1966) comb. nov., Leptomesochra eremeensis Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008 = Leptameira eremeensis (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008) comb. nov., and Leptomesochra kunzi Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008 = Leptameira kunzi (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008) comb. nov.
[details]
Taxonomy
Sars (1911b: 418) proposed the genus Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b to accommodate Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b...
Taxonomy
Sars (1911b: 418) proposed the genus Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b to accommodate Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b (incorrect original spelling “MacIntoshi”), Normanella attenuata A. Scott, 1896, and two new species Leptomesochra tenuicornis Sars, 1911b and L. confluens Sars, 1911c, but neglected type fixation. According to Lang (1936d: 134) L. confluens was sufficiently different from its congeners to exclude it from the genus Leptomesochra, an opinion that had already been voiced earlier by Gurney (1932: 50). Consequently, Lang (1936d: 135) proposed the genus Leptameira (type species by monotypy: Leptomesochra confluens) which remained monotypic until Nicholls (1939a: 282) added Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939a. Lang’s (1936d: 134–135) superficial statement that “...Leptomesochra confluens Sars unterscheidet sich von den übrigen Arten im Bau des 1. Maxillipeden und des 5. Beinpaares und muß in eine besondere Gattung ... gestellt werden” does not satisfy the provisions of ICZN Art. 13.1.1. since no specific diagnostic characters were mentioned; consequently, it does not make the name Leptameira available. Conversely, Nicholls (1939a: 282) explicitly mentioned the fused rami in leg 5 as a differentiating character for Leptameira, however, since he refrained from type fixation, his paper also failed to make the generic name available. After having consulted Klie’s (1929: 359) previously unnoticed description of the male of Leptomesochra macintoshi (Scott & Scott, 1895b), Lang (1944: 24; 1948: 785) himself relegated Leptameira to a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra. He also added Leptomesochra infima Monard, 1928 to the latter genus but overlooked Nicholls’s (1939a) description of Leptameira attenuata. Lang’s (1948: 7, 839) inexplicit designation of the oldest originally included species, Mesochra macintoshi, as the type of Leptomesochra is invalid for reasons outlined above. The first author to have validly fixed the type is Vervoort (1964: 270) who cited Normanella attenuata A. Scott, 1896 as the type species. Vervoort (1964: 271) also included L. nasuta Sewell, 1940, L. africana Kunz, 1951, L. eulitoralis Noodt, 1952, L. elongata Boži , 1955, L. pygmaea Vervoort, 1964 and L. nichollsi Noodt, 1955a in the genus, the latter being a new substitute name for Leptomesochra attenuata (Nicholls, 1939a) (a secondary subjective homonym of L. attenuata (A. Scott, 1896) (cf. Noodt 1955a: 96). Lang (1965: 338) revised the genus Leptomesochra and subdivided it into three genera based on the endopodal segmentation of legs 3–4. In the genus Praeleptomesochra Lang, 1965 he grouped Leptomesochra africana (type by original designation) and Praeleptomesochra similis Lang, 1965, both of which display 3- segmented endopods in legs 3–4. He also referred Leptomesochra pygmaea to this genus in a postscript to his work (Lang 1965: 548). In the genus Leptomesochra he included species which exhibit 2-segmented endopods (Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, L. confluens, L. infima and Leptameira attenuata). Finally, in the genus Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 he included species with a 2-segmented leg 3 endopod and a 3-segmented leg 4 endopod (Normanella attenuata, Leptomesochra tenuicornis, L. elongata, L. eulitoralis and Interleptomesochra reducta Lang, 1965) and fixed L. tenuicornis as the type species by original designation. However, the inclusion of N. attenuata in this genus effectively renders the generic name Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra. Hence, according to current ameirid systematics the generic concept of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b in reality coincides with Lang’s (1965: 375) diagnosis of Interleptomesochra. In addition to the five species referred to this genus by Lang (1965) and which are listed above, Leptomesochra also includes two other species that were originally assigned to Interleptomesochra, i.e I. noodti Galhano, 1968 = Leptomesochra noodti (Galhano, 1968) comb. [details]
Sars (1911b: 418) proposed the genus Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b to accommodate Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b (incorrect original spelling “MacIntoshi”), Normanella attenuata A. Scott, 1896, and two new species Leptomesochra tenuicornis Sars, 1911b and L. confluens Sars, 1911c, but neglected type fixation. According to Lang (1936d: 134) L. confluens was sufficiently different from its congeners to exclude it from the genus Leptomesochra, an opinion that had already been voiced earlier by Gurney (1932: 50). Consequently, Lang (1936d: 135) proposed the genus Leptameira (type species by monotypy: Leptomesochra confluens) which remained monotypic until Nicholls (1939a: 282) added Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939a. Lang’s (1936d: 134–135) superficial statement that “...Leptomesochra confluens Sars unterscheidet sich von den übrigen Arten im Bau des 1. Maxillipeden und des 5. Beinpaares und muß in eine besondere Gattung ... gestellt werden” does not satisfy the provisions of ICZN Art. 13.1.1. since no specific diagnostic characters were mentioned; consequently, it does not make the name Leptameira available. Conversely, Nicholls (1939a: 282) explicitly mentioned the fused rami in leg 5 as a differentiating character for Leptameira, however, since he refrained from type fixation, his paper also failed to make the generic name available. After having consulted Klie’s (1929: 359) previously unnoticed description of the male of Leptomesochra macintoshi (Scott & Scott, 1895b), Lang (1944: 24; 1948: 785) himself relegated Leptameira to a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra. He also added Leptomesochra infima Monard, 1928 to the latter genus but overlooked Nicholls’s (1939a) description of Leptameira attenuata. Lang’s (1948: 7, 839) inexplicit designation of the oldest originally included species, Mesochra macintoshi, as the type of Leptomesochra is invalid for reasons outlined above. The first author to have validly fixed the type is Vervoort (1964: 270) who cited Normanella attenuata A. Scott, 1896 as the type species. Vervoort (1964: 271) also included L. nasuta Sewell, 1940, L. africana Kunz, 1951, L. eulitoralis Noodt, 1952, L. elongata Boži , 1955, L. pygmaea Vervoort, 1964 and L. nichollsi Noodt, 1955a in the genus, the latter being a new substitute name for Leptomesochra attenuata (Nicholls, 1939a) (a secondary subjective homonym of L. attenuata (A. Scott, 1896) (cf. Noodt 1955a: 96). Lang (1965: 338) revised the genus Leptomesochra and subdivided it into three genera based on the endopodal segmentation of legs 3–4. In the genus Praeleptomesochra Lang, 1965 he grouped Leptomesochra africana (type by original designation) and Praeleptomesochra similis Lang, 1965, both of which display 3- segmented endopods in legs 3–4. He also referred Leptomesochra pygmaea to this genus in a postscript to his work (Lang 1965: 548). In the genus Leptomesochra he included species which exhibit 2-segmented endopods (Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, L. confluens, L. infima and Leptameira attenuata). Finally, in the genus Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 he included species with a 2-segmented leg 3 endopod and a 3-segmented leg 4 endopod (Normanella attenuata, Leptomesochra tenuicornis, L. elongata, L. eulitoralis and Interleptomesochra reducta Lang, 1965) and fixed L. tenuicornis as the type species by original designation. However, the inclusion of N. attenuata in this genus effectively renders the generic name Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra. Hence, according to current ameirid systematics the generic concept of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b in reality coincides with Lang’s (1965: 375) diagnosis of Interleptomesochra. In addition to the five species referred to this genus by Lang (1965) and which are listed above, Leptomesochra also includes two other species that were originally assigned to Interleptomesochra, i.e I. noodti Galhano, 1968 = Leptomesochra noodti (Galhano, 1968) comb. [details]
Walter, T.C.; Boxshall, G. (2025). World of Copepods Database. Leptameira Huys, 2009. Accessed at: https://www.marinespecies.org/copepoda/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=549184 on 2026-01-19
original description
Huys, R. (2009). Unresolved cases of type fixation, synonymy and homonymy in harpacticoid copepod nomenclature (Crustacea: Copepoda). <em>Zootaxa.</em> 2183:1-99., available online at http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/2/zt02183p099.pdf [details] Available for editors [request]
original description (of Leptameira Lang, 1936) Lang, K. (1936). Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Harpacticiden. 6. Bemerkungen über die Familie der Ameiridae Monard. [Contributions to the knowledge of the Harpacticidae. 6. Remarks on the family Ameiridae Monard.]. <em>Zoologischer Anzeiger.</em> 114(5-6):133-136. (2-v-1936). [details] Available for editors [request]
[request]original description (of Leptameira Lang, 1936) Lang, K. (1936). Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Harpacticiden. 6. Bemerkungen über die Familie der Ameiridae Monard. [Contributions to the knowledge of the Harpacticidae. 6. Remarks on the family Ameiridae Monard.]. <em>Zoologischer Anzeiger.</em> 114(5-6):133-136. (2-v-1936). [details] Available for editors
[request]From editor or global species database
Taxonomic remark According to Huys (2009): 1) Sars (1911) proposed Leptomesochra for Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895, Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, Leptomesochra tenuicornis Sars, 1911, and Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911; but he did not fix the type species, rendering the genus name Leptomesochra unavailable.
2) Lang (1936) proposed the genus name Leptameira with Leptomesochra confluens as the type species, but did not include a diagnosis for Leptameira, rendering the genus name unavailable. Later, Nicholls (1939) added Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939, and gave the diagnostic features to differentiate Leptameira, but he failed in fixing the type species, rendering the genus name unavailable one more time.
3) Lang (1944) relegated Leptameira to a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra, but the designation of Mesochra macintoshi as the type species of Leptomesochra was also invalid, rendering the genus name Leptomesochra unavailable again.
4) It was Vervoort (1964) who validly fixed Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896 as the type species, and included Leptomesochra nasuta Sewell, 1940, Leptomesochra africana Kunz, 1951, Leptomesochra eulitoralis Noodt, 1952, Leptomseochra elongata Bozic, 1955, Leptomesochra pygmaea Vervoort, 1964 and Leptomesochra nichollsi Noodt, 1955, the latter is a substitute name of Leptomesochra attenuata (Nicholls, 1939), a secondary homonym of Leptomesochra attenuata (Scott A., 1896).
5) Lang (1965) revised the genus Leptomesochra and divided it into three genera:
- Praeleptomesochra Lang, 1965 (L. africana as the type species, plus Praeleptomesochra similis Lang, 1965, and Leptomesochra pygmaea),
- Leptomesochra Sars, 1911 (Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, Leptomesochra confluens, Leptomesochra infima, and Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939),
- Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 (L. tenicornis as the type species, plus Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, Leptomesochra tenuicornis, Leptomesochra elongata, Leptomesochra eulitoralis and Interleptomesochra reducta Lang, 1965)
Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 became a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911, because Sars (1911) concept of Leptomesochra and Lang's (1965) concept of Interleptomesochra contains Normanella attenuata Scot A., 1896, and the generic concept of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911 coincides with Lang's (1965) diagnosis of Interleoptomesochra.
Two other species were originally added to Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965, Interleptomesochra noodti Galhano, 1968, and Interleptomesochra boguensis Lindgren, 1975. Since Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 is a junior synonym of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911, these two species became Leptomesochra noodti (Galhano, 1968) and Leptomesochra boguensis (Lindgren, 1975). Then, Leptomesochra (with Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, Leptomesochra confluens, Leptomesochra infima, and Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939), became orphaned because its type species, Normanella attenuata Scott A., 1896, was left in Interleptomesochra.
Huys (2009) made available Lang's (1936) Leptameira with Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911 as the type species, and included Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b = Leptameira macintoshi (Scott & Scott, 1895b) comb. nov., Leptomesochra confluens Sars, 1911c = Leptameira confluens (Sars, 1911c) comb. nov., Leptomesochra infima Monard, 1928 = Leptameira infima (Monard, 1928) comb. nov., Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939a = Leptameira attenuata (Nicholls, 1939a) comb. nov.; Leptomesochra nasuta Sewell, 1940 = Leptameira nasuta (Sewell, 1940) comb. nov., Leptomesochra hirsuta Wiborg, 1964 = Leptameira hirsuta (Wiborg, 1964) comb. nov., Leptomesochra theodoridis Soyer, 1966 = Leptameira theodoridis (Soyer, 1966) comb. nov., Leptomesochra eremeensis Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008 = Leptameira eremeensis (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008) comb. nov., and Leptomesochra kunzi Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008 = Leptameira kunzi (Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008) comb. nov.
[details]
Taxonomy
Sars (1911b: 418) proposed the genus Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b to accommodate Mesochra macintoshi Scott & Scott, 1895b (incorrect original spelling “MacIntoshi”), Normanella attenuata A. Scott, 1896, and two new species Leptomesochra tenuicornis Sars, 1911b and L. confluens Sars, 1911c, but neglected type fixation. According to Lang (1936d: 134) L. confluens was sufficiently different from its congeners to exclude it from the genus Leptomesochra, an opinion that had already been voiced earlier by Gurney (1932: 50). Consequently, Lang (1936d: 135) proposed the genus Leptameira (type species by monotypy: Leptomesochra confluens) which remained monotypic until Nicholls (1939a: 282) added Leptameira attenuata Nicholls, 1939a. Lang’s (1936d: 134–135) superficial statement that “...Leptomesochra confluens Sars unterscheidet sich von den übrigen Arten im Bau des 1. Maxillipeden und des 5. Beinpaares und muß in eine besondere Gattung ... gestellt werden” does not satisfy the provisions of ICZN Art. 13.1.1. since no specific diagnostic characters were mentioned; consequently, it does not make the name Leptameira available. Conversely, Nicholls (1939a: 282) explicitly mentioned the fused rami in leg 5 as a differentiating character for Leptameira, however, since he refrained from type fixation, his paper also failed to make the generic name available. After having consulted Klie’s (1929: 359) previously unnoticed description of the male of Leptomesochra macintoshi (Scott & Scott, 1895b), Lang (1944: 24; 1948: 785) himself relegated Leptameira to a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra. He also added Leptomesochra infima Monard, 1928 to the latter genus but overlooked Nicholls’s (1939a) description of Leptameira attenuata. Lang’s (1948: 7, 839) inexplicit designation of the oldest originally included species, Mesochra macintoshi, as the type of Leptomesochra is invalid for reasons outlined above. The first author to have validly fixed the type is Vervoort (1964: 270) who cited Normanella attenuata A. Scott, 1896 as the type species. Vervoort (1964: 271) also included L. nasuta Sewell, 1940, L. africana Kunz, 1951, L. eulitoralis Noodt, 1952, L. elongata Boži , 1955, L. pygmaea Vervoort, 1964 and L. nichollsi Noodt, 1955a in the genus, the latter being a new substitute name for Leptomesochra attenuata (Nicholls, 1939a) (a secondary subjective homonym of L. attenuata (A. Scott, 1896) (cf. Noodt 1955a: 96). Lang (1965: 338) revised the genus Leptomesochra and subdivided it into three genera based on the endopodal segmentation of legs 3–4. In the genus Praeleptomesochra Lang, 1965 he grouped Leptomesochra africana (type by original designation) and Praeleptomesochra similis Lang, 1965, both of which display 3- segmented endopods in legs 3–4. He also referred Leptomesochra pygmaea to this genus in a postscript to his work (Lang 1965: 548). In the genus Leptomesochra he included species which exhibit 2-segmented endopods (Mesochra macintoshi, Leptomesochra nasuta, L. confluens, L. infima and Leptameira attenuata). Finally, in the genus Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 he included species with a 2-segmented leg 3 endopod and a 3-segmented leg 4 endopod (Normanella attenuata, Leptomesochra tenuicornis, L. elongata, L. eulitoralis and Interleptomesochra reducta Lang, 1965) and fixed L. tenuicornis as the type species by original designation. However, the inclusion of N. attenuata in this genus effectively renders the generic name Interleptomesochra Lang, 1965 a junior subjective synonym of Leptomesochra. Hence, according to current ameirid systematics the generic concept of Leptomesochra Sars, 1911b in reality coincides with Lang’s (1965: 375) diagnosis of Interleptomesochra. In addition to the five species referred to this genus by Lang (1965) and which are listed above, Leptomesochra also includes two other species that were originally assigned to Interleptomesochra, i.e I. noodti Galhano, 1968 = Leptomesochra noodti (Galhano, 1968) comb. [details]
From editor or global species database
Image from typetaxon