Two new species of the genus Austroniscus Vanhoeffen

• Main Authors: Stefanie Kaiser, Angelika Brandt
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2007
• Subjects: Key words; Isopoda; Austroniscus; Nannoniscidae; BENDEX; Antarctic shelf; new species; Antarctic; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.192.9952; http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007f/zt01394p068.pdf

During the BENDEX expedition (BENthic Disturbance-EXperiment) with RV Polarstern in Antarctic summer 2003/04, species of the genus Austroniscus Vanhoeffen, 1914 were sampled from the continental shelf of the eastern Weddell Sea. Besides Austroniscus ovalis Vanhoeffen, 1914, which is the first record of this species from western Antarctica, two other species were found, i.e. Austroniscus chelus sp. nov. and Austroniscus obscurus sp. nov. They both bear many resemblances to Austroniscus ovalis, but can be easily distinguished from A. ovalis by the shape of the rostral crest and the first pereonite. The two new species are very similar to each other but differ in the number of articles of the antennula and the shape of pleopods 3 to 5.