Family EUSIRIDAE Stebbing, 1888
Eusiroides monoculoides
© Copyright R.T. Springthorpe.
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Family EUSIRIDAE Stebbing, 1888
Introduction
Barnard & Karaman (1991) included the calliopiid and pontogeneid amphipods in the Eusiridae. The Eusiridae (sensu lato) is difficult to define and almost certainly polyphyletic. Bousfield & Hendrycks (1995) reverted to the Eusiridae (sensu stricto) and in this catalogue we keep the three families separate. According to Bousfield & Hendrycks (1995) eusirids ‘are medium to large epibenthic and pelagic marine carnivores that prey mainly on various benthic invertebrates or small fast moving crustaceans in the water column’. Eusirids are not well represented in Australian waters but they are diverse in the Australian Antarctic territories.
Diagnosis
Head as long as deep, longer than deep or deeper than long; anteroventral margin weakly or moderately recessed, concave, rounded, notched, straight or oblique and shallowly excavate; anteroventral corner rounded, subquadrate or hooked; rostrum short, moderate, long or absent; eyes well developed (round, ovoid, reniform or subrectangular), obsolescent or absent. Body laterally compressed or dorsoventrally flattened; smooth or processiferous; body with sparse slender setae or without setae. Antenna 1 shorter than, subequal to, or longer than antenna 2; peduncular article 1 shorter than, subequal to, or longer than article 2; article 2 longer than article 3; article 3 shorter than article 1; accessory flagellum present or absent; primary flagellum 5- or more articulate; callynophore present or absent. Antenna 2 short, medium length, long or longer than body; flagellum shorter than, as long as or longer than peduncle; less than or more than 5-articulate; calceoli present or absent. Mandible incisor dentate; lacinia mobilis present on both sides; molar fully triturating. Maxilla 1 inner plate strongly setose along medial margin or weakly setose apically; palp large or reduced. Maxilliped inner plates well developed; outer plates small. Coxae 1–4 longer than broad or as long as broad, overlapping; coxa 1 anteroventrally acuminate or not; coxae 1–3 with none vestigial or reduced or with coxa 1 reduced. Gnathopod 1 not sexually dimorphic; smaller (or weaker) than or subequal to gnathopod 2; simple or subchelate; coxa smaller than or subequal to coxa 2; carpus/propodus cantilevered on narrow hinge or not; carpus shorter than, subequal to, or longer than propodus, slightly or not produced along posterior margin of propodus. Gnathopod 2 sexually dimorphic or not; simple or subchelate; coxa subequal to but not hidden by coxa 3; ischium short; carpus short or long, shorter than, subequal to, or longer than propodus, strongly, slightly or not produced along posterior margin of propodus. Pereopod 3 coxa longer than broad, as long as broad or broader than long; carpus shorter than or subequal to propodus, not produced. Pereopod 4 coxa subequal to, or larger than coxa 3, with or without posteroventral lobe; carpus shorter than or subequal to propodus, not produced. Pereopod 5 shorter than or subequal to pereopod 6; coxa smaller than or subequal to coxa 4, equilobate or with ventrally produced posterior lobe; with or without posterodorsal lobe; basis expanded or slightly expanded, subrectangular or subovate, with or without posteroventral lobe; carpus weakly expanded or linear; dactylus with a few subterminal setae or setae absent. Pereopod 6 shorter than or subequal to pereopod 7; basis expanded or slightly expanded; dactylus with a few subterminal setae or without setae. Pereopod 7 subequal to or longer than pereopod 5; basis expanded or slightly expanded, subrectangular, subovate or subquadrate. Pleonites 1–3 with or without lateral teeth or ridging. Epimeron 2 setose or without setae. Urosome dorsoventrally flattened or not; urosomites 1–3 free; urosomite 1 longer or much longer than urosomite 2; urosomite 1 carinate or urosomites not carinate. Uropods 1–2 apices of rami with or without robust setae. Uropod 1 peduncle without basofacial robust seta. Uropod 3 biramous; peduncle short or long, without medial process; rami lanceolate; outer ramus shorter or longer than peduncle, without recurved spines; inner ramus apically setose or not. Telson laminar; deeply, moderately or weakly cleft, notched, emarginate or entire; longer than broad or as long as broad; dorsal robust setae absent; apical robust setae present or absent.
General References
Barnard, J.L. 1969. The families and genera of marine gammaridean Amphipoda. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 271: 1-535
Barnard, J.L. & Karaman, G.S. 1991. The families and genera of marine gammaridean Amphipoda (except marine gammaroids). Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 13: 1-866
Bousfield, E.L. 1979. A revised classification and phylogeny of amphipod crustaceans. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada 16: 343-390
Bousfield, E.L. & Hendrycks, E.A. 1995. The amphipod superfamily Eusiroidea in the North American Pacific region. 1. Family Eusiridae: systematics and distributional ecology. Amphipacifica 1(4): 3-59
Edgar, G.J. 1983. The ecology of south-eastern Tasmanian phytal animal communities. I. Spatial organisation on a local scale. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 70: 129-157
Edgar, G.J. 1990. Population regulation, population dynamics and competition amongst mobile epifauna associated with seagrass. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 144: 205-234
Edgar, G.J. 1992. Patterns of colonization of mobile epifauna in a Western Australian seagrass bed. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 157: 225-246
Lowry, J.K. & Springthorpe, R.T. 2005. New calliopiid and eusirid amphipods from eastern Australian waters (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Calliopiidae: Eusiridae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 118(1): 38-47
Poore, A.G.B. 1994. Selective herbivory by amphipods inhabiting the brown alga Zonaria angustata. Marine Ecology Progress Series 107: 113-123
Stebbing, T.R.R. 1888. Report on the Amphipoda collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger 1873–1876, Zoology 29: i-xxiv + 1-1713, 210 pls (3 vols)
Steele, D.H. & Steele, V.J. 1973. Some aspects of the biology of Calliopius laeviusculus (Krøyer) (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in the northwestern Atlantic. Canadian Journal of Zoology 51(7): 723-728
Thurston, M.H. 1980. Abyssal benthic Amphipoda (Crustacea) from the East Iceland Basin 1. The genus Rhachotropis. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zool. 38(1): 43-67
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05-Aug-2022 | AMPHIPODA | 06-Feb-2013 | MOVED | Dr Jim Lowry (AM) |
| 05-Aug-2022 | 22-Nov-2012 | MODIFIED | ||
| 05-Aug-2022 | 18-Oct-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
| 05-Aug-2022 | 06-Apr-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |