Family DESMOSOMATIDAE G.O. Sars, 1897

Museums

Regional Maps

• Desmosomatidae Sars, G.O. 1897. Parts 7, 8. Desmosomidae, Munnopsidae (part). pp. 117–144, pls 149–164 in Sars, G.O. (ed.). An Account of the Crustacea of Norway with short descriptions and figures of all the species. Isopoda. Bergen : Bergen Museum Vol. 2. [118].

Introduction

Desmosomatidae are asellote isopods known from all oceanic basins with many species waiting to be described. Although they are predominantly deep-sea taxa, several species occur on polar and temperate shelves whereas others have been reported only from hadal depths. Members of the family are most easily recognised by the separation of a unit comprising the short pereonites 1–4 from the longer and more depressed pereonites 5–7. Adults range from 1.4 to 9.5 mm long. See Hessler (1970), Kussakin (1999) and and Brix et al. (2021) for revisions.

Diagnosis

Body elongate, subcylindrical; head frontal margin projecting forward, deeper than pereon; pereon divided into anterior unit of 4 short pereonites and posterior unit of 3 longer depressed pereonites. Pleon of 1 free pleonite plus pleotelson. Anus not covered by pleopodal operculum. Eyes absent. Antennula short, dorsal. Mandibular molar small, triangular, spinulose. Maxillipedal palp articles 1–3 wider than distal articles, as wide or wider than endite. Pereopods 2–7 ambulatory; pereopod 4 coxa inserting on anterolateral margin. Uropod inserting posteroventrally.

General References

Brix, S., Held, C., Kaiser, S., Jennings, R.M., Driskell, A. & Brandt, A. 2021. Evolution and phylogeny of the deep-sea isopod families Desmosomatidae Sars, 1897 and Nannoniscidae Hansen, 1916 (Isopoda: Asellota). Organisms Diversity & Evolution 21: 691–717

Hessler, R.R. 1970. The Desmosomatidae (Isopoda, Asellota) of the Gay Head-Bermuda Transect. Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography 15: 1-185

Kussakin, O.G. 1999. Marine and brackish-water Crustacea (Isopoda) of cold and temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere. 3. Suborder Asellota 2. Families Joeropsididae, Nannoniscidae, Desmosomatidae, Macrostylidae. Opredeliteli po Faune SSSR 169: 1-384 [in Russian]

History of changes