Family BATHYNATALIIDAE Kensley, 1978

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Regional Maps

• Bathynataliidae Kensley, B. 1978. A new marine isopod family from the south-western Indian Ocean. Annals of the South African Museum 75: 41-50 [41].

  Type genus:

   Bathynatalia Barnard, 1957.

Introduction

Bathynataliids are a diverse family of four Southern Hemisphere species in three genera. The head embedded in the surrounding pereonite 1 resembles that of serolids but the two families differ in the number of free pleonites. The family Bathynataliidae was erected for a monotypic South African genus Bathynatalia Kensley, 1978 and expanded to include a second monotypic South African genus, Naudea Kensley, 1979. The third genus Biremia Bruce, 1985 occurs in Australia and has two described species

Diagnosis

Body elongate-oval, flat or vaulted, with rectangular pleotelson; head medially fused with pereonite 1; pereonites 1–7 visible dorsally, separated by sutures; pereonites 5–7 sternites and ventral coxal plates fused together at midline. Coxal dorsal plates 2–7 delimited from tergite by suture; plate 7 visible but shorter than coxal plate 6, or not visible dorsally. Pleon of 4 free pleonites (or pleonites 1, 2 fused dorsally) and fused pleonite 5-pleotelson, or of 5 free pleonites (with slight movement) and pleotelson; pleonal sternites 1–3 absent. Pleotelson scarcely tapering, uropods attached posteriorly. Antennular and antennal peduncles cylindrical, not part of margin of body. Mandibular incisor multicuspid; molar process absent. Maxillula mesial endite minute, with 1 short simple seta; lateral endite usually with 11 large setae. Maxilla mesial endite with few plumose setae; second and lateral endites each with 2 long setae or lateral endite absent. Maxillipedal palp of 3 articles, fused articles 2–3 oval. Pereopod 1 subchelate, propodus barely tapering, palm straight with row of well spaced robust setae, or subchelate, propodus about as wide as long, palm straight with few robust setae. Pereopod 2 not sexually dimorphic. Pleopods 1–3 peduncles subquadrate, with terminal rami. Uropods attached on posterior margin of pleotelson; biramous, or with knob-like rami fused to peduncle.

Diagnosis References

Poore, G.C.B. 2005. Biremia kensleyi, new species of Bathynataliidae, a small Southern Hemisphere family (Crustacea: Isopoda: Sphaeromatidea). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 118: 55-62 [55] (diagnosis)

General References

Bruce, N.L. 1985. Biremia ambocerca n. gen., n. sp., the first record of the marine isopod crustacean family Bathynataliidae from Australian waters. Records of the Australian Museum 37: 295-299

Kensley, B. 1978. A new marine isopod family from the south-western Indian Ocean. Annals of the South African Museum 75: 41-50

Kensley, B. 1979. A second genus in the marine isopod family Bathynataliidae. Annals of the South African Museum 79: 35-41

Poore, G.C.B. 1985. Basserolis kimblae, a new genus and species of isopod (Crustacea) from Australia. Journal of Crustacean Biology 5: 175-181

Poore, G.C.B. 2005. Biremia kensleyi, new species of Bathynataliidae, a small Southern Hemisphere family (Crustacea: Isopoda: Sphaeromatidea). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 118: 55-62

History of changes