Subfamily Paronellinae Börner 1906 sensu Soto Adames et al. 2008

Genus Plumachaetas Salmon 1951 sensu Zhang & Deharveng 2015b

Diagnosis of genus. Individuals large, usually with distinct colour pattern. Apically pointed (or rarely rounded), strongly ciliate, elongate scales covering at least Ant.I–II, dorsal head and trunk, ventral manubrium and dens (Figs1A, C). Antennae and legs with some very long mac, clearly longer than the width of the appendages. Dorsal head and trunk covered by abundant mac. Antennae longer than body with four undivided articulations. Ant.I longer than head length (Fig.1A); Ant.IV with or without annulations and lacking apical bulb (Fig.1B). Eyes 8 +8, lenses G and H smaller than others (Figs1C, D). Prelabral chaetae (4) ciliate, simple or bifurcate (as in P.sarasini [Handschin, 1926]) (Fig.1E); proximal row of labral chaetae (5) with 2–5 enlarged chaetae (at least p1 enlarged) (Fig.1E). Maxillary outer lobe subapical chaeta thick and blunt, sublobal plate with three smooth sublobal appendages (Fig.1F). Mesonotum not projecting beyond head (Fig.1A). Th.II–Abd.V with ms and sens formulae as 10|10100 and 22|1(0)22–3, respectively. Trochanteral organ well developed. Unguiculus truncate or lanceolate (Fig.2A). Abd.II to IV bothriotricha formula as 2/3/2. Ventral tube anterior face with long distal mac (Fig.2B), posterior face densely covered by chaetae, with or without distal smooth chaetae (Fig. 2D). Corpus of tenaculum with a single, weakly ciliate chaeta, rami with 4 + 4 teeth (Fig.2E). Furca long, dorsally densely covered by chaetae (Fig.2F), manubrium and dens ventrally scaled. Dens lacking spines (Fig.2F), with 0–2 large distal chaetae near mucro. Mucro short with 2–4 teeth (Figs2 G–H). (adapted from Yoshii 1989, Yoshii & Suhardjono 1992, Greenslade & Yoshii 2000, Zhang & Deharveng 2015b).

Type species. Chaetoceras sarasini Handschin, 1926, deposited at University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland .

Type locality: Ngoi Valley, New Caledonia .