Diagnosis
The carapace is elongate with a broad anteriorly pointing rostrum and shallow incisure. The posterior margin is evenly rounded or angled. There is marked sexual dimorphism, the female carapace, with carapace height being ~70% of its length in the female and ~57% in males. The genus is distinguished from others in the family by the maxilla having three endites and the caudal furca having secondary claw setae alternating with the main ones. The male possesses lateral eyes but the female does not, but in both sexes the median naupliar eye is well developed.
Remarks
The genus was established by Poulsen (1962) and presently consists of seventeen species, although the attribution of many of the species within the family is uncertain. The species are generally smaller than those of Philomedes. A full description is given in Kornicker (1974).