Family PARANTHURIDAE Menzies & Glynn, 1968

Paranthura caesia

© Copyright from Poore 1984.

Museums

Regional Maps

• Paranthuridae Menzies, R.J. & Glynn, P.W. 1968. The common marine isopod Crustacea of Puerto Rico. A handbook for marine biologists. Uitgaven van de Natuurwetenschappelijke Studiekring voor Suriname en de Nederlandse Antillen 51: 1-133 [32].

  Type genus:

   Paranthura Bate & Westwood, 1866.

Introduction

The family Paranthuridae was introduced to include all anthuroids with ‘piercing’ mouthparts, that is with the labrum, mandible and maxilliped produced forward as acute stylets. Poore (2001) separated most of these as Leptanthuridae retaining Paranthuridae for six genera lacking statocysts and without complex robust setae along the palm of pereopod 1. Many species are darkly pigmented. The family includes one endemic New Zealand species from interstitial fresh water, Cruregens fontanus Chilton, 1882. The Paranthuridae are a widespread marine and estuarine family. Wägele (1981) discussed the anatomy and systematics of the family as part of his study of the Anthuridea but his concept of the family is not used here. Poore (1980, 1984, 2001) provided keys to paranthurid genera (in whole and in part) and a list of species. Shiraki et al. (2022) added another genus and provided a key to genera. Five of the seven genera lack pereopod 7 as adults, a neotenous character retained from the manca stage.

Diagnosis

Body 10–15 times as long as wide, non-males rarely more elongate (pereonite 7 wider than long, much shorter than pereonite 6); pleonites without marginal plumose setae on pleonal epimera or posterior borders of pleonites 4 and 5; pleonites 1–5 together not more than twice as long as wide; pleonites 1–5 free and articulating, or fused; telson statocysts absent. Antennal flagellum rudimentary (fewer than 5 fused articles), shorter than last article of peduncle. Mouthparts acutely produced anteriorly. Mandible with acute anteriorly-directed incisor (often secondarily blunt). Maxillipedal palp narrow, tapering to acute apex, of fewer than 4 articles (c. 3 times as long as wide). Pereopods 2–3 carpus not or weakly produced posterodistally. Pereopod 7 propodus anterodistal serrate setae absent. Pleopod 1 exopod operculiform alone.

General References

Poore, G.C.B. 1980. A revision of the Paranthuridae (Crustacea: Isopoda: Anthuridea) with a catalogue of species. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 68: 53-67

Poore, G.C.B. 1984. Colanthura, Califanthura, Cruanthura and Cruregens, related genera of the Paranthuridae. Journal of Natural History 18: 697-715

Poore, G.C.B. 2001. Families and genera of Isopoda Anthuridea. Crustacean Issues 13: 63-173

Shiraki, S., Shimomura, M. & Kakui, K. 2022. A new neotenous genus and species, Deltanthura palpus gen. et sp. nov. (Isopoda, Anthuroidea, Paranthuridae) from Japan, with a revised key to the genera in Paranthuridae. Zoosystematics and Evolution 98: 109-115

Wägele, J.W. 1981. Zur phylogenie der Anthuridea (Crustacea, Isopoda) mit Beiträgen zur Lebensweise, Morphologie, Anatomie und Taxonomie. Zoologica (Stuttgart) 132: 1-127

History of changes