Thermoarcturidae

• Main Author: Poore, Gary C. B.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Arthropoda; Malacostraca; Isopoda; Thermoarcturidae; Seta; Menzies; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6109367; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6109367

Thermoarcturidae n. fam. Type genus. Thermoarcturus Paul & Menzies, 1971. Diagnosis. Body flexed between pereonites 4 and 5. Head and pereonite 1 fused. Pereonite 4 of similar length to pereonite 3. All pleonites fused into pleotelson, suture visible in at least 1 species. Body tuberculate or spinose, with at least dorsolateral pairs of spines, not dominated by pair near end of pleotelson; cuticle finely tomentose; pleotelson without dorsolateral ridges ending in mediodorsal posterior spine. Dorsal coxal plates 2–7 obsolete, bases of pereopods exposed. Mouthparts and pereopod 1 visible in lateral view. Eyes small or absent. All limbs covered in fur of fine setae. Antennal flagellum of 2 articles plus distal claw. Maxillipedal palp compact, article 3 as wide as long or wider than long, with mesiodistal notch. Pereopod 1 gnathopod-like, pereopods 2–4 differentiated from ambulatory pereopods 5–7. Pereopod 1 dactylus evenly curved along anterior margin, evenly tapering, with mesial stiff seta(e). Pereopods 2–4 with marginal and mesial rows of well-spaced long stiff setae; with prominent dactylus, unguis at least half as long as dactylus; pereopod 4 similar to pereopod 3. Pereopods of males without dense fur of fine setae along flexor margins. Uropodal endopod and exopod triangular, of similar lengths, each with terminal robust seta(e). Oostegites 1–4 functional, supported by coxal lobes; oostegites 5 a pair of rounded plates. Penes fused as a single penial plate, apically barely slit. Pleopod 1 peduncle more elongate than on other pleopods; with marginal setae on rami longer than or equal to length of rami. Pleopod 1 exopod of male thickened and with groove on posterior face, ending laterally on complexly lobed margin, or without groove and setose. Pleopod 2 of male with appendix masculina as long as or longer than endopod, basally less than half width of endopod. Remarks. The diagnosis is based on that of Antarcturidae (Poore 2001) which the new family most resembles. The most significant feature uniting ...