Family PARANEBALIIDAE Walker-Smith & Poore, 2001

Museums

Regional Maps

• Paranebaliidae Walker-Smith, G. & Poore, G.C.B. 2001. A phylogeny of the Leptostraca (Crustacea) with keys to families and genera. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 58(2): 383-410.

  Type genus:

   Paranebalia Claus, 1880.

Introduction

Paranebaliids are similar in habits to nebaliids. Only two genera are currently assigned to the family and both are found in Australian waters. Paranebalia is represented by a single species P. longipes (Willemöes-Suhm, 1875), that has been recorded from the Torres Strait, and from South Australia. Both of these records are now believed to represent new species (Walker-Smith, pers. comm.). Paranebalia longipes was described from the Caribbean, and it is highly unlikely that its range will extend to the central Indo-west Pacific, particularly when other species that have been assessed critically are far more insular in distribution.

Diagnosis

Subterminal rostral spine present; keel absent. Eye shorter than rostrum; visual elements present. Eye sometimes with denticles; without dorsal papilla; ventral margin not extremely convex. Supra-ocular scale absent. Antenna 1 with anterodenticulate fourth article; article 4 without robust setae; male flagellum modified, either swollen (juveniles) or transformed into callynophore. Antenna 2 peduncle articles 3 and 4 fused; peduncle with two rounded cuticular outgrowths and sometimes with minute cuticular denticles or spines; without dorsal spine. Antenna 2 male not greatly elongate, only half body length. Mandible incisor with one tooth. Molar process well developed; with or without setal brush and sometimes with large accessory process. Maxilla 1 palp, long, well developed; second endite elongate. Maxilla 2 with at least first three endites well developed; much smaller than thoracopod 1; endopod without organelles; exopod greater than half length of endopod. Thoracopods long, extending beyond ventral margin of the carapace; closely spaced. Thoracopod 1 differing only slightly from thoracopods 2–7. Thoracopod exopod heavily setose and without proximal lobe. Thoracopods 2–5 epipod shorter than exopod; endopods showing a degree of articulation. Pleonites 4 and 5 with smooth margins. Pleonites 6 and 7 dorsal margins sometimes crenate. Pleopod 1, exopod comb-row present. Pleopods 2–4 exopod with parallel margins; outer margins with setae in pairs. Pleopod 5 longer than pleopod 6. Pleopod 6 uniarticulate. Caudal rami tapering evenly to tip. Thorax not inflated; body cuticle and carapace firm. Carapace not sculptured; emarginate; without carina on anterolateral lower corner. Entire length of female less than 20 mm. (After Walker-Smith & Poore 2001)

General References

Walker-Smith, G. & Poore, G.C.B. 2001. A phylogeny of the Leptostraca (Crustacea) with keys to families and genera. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 58(2): 383-410

History of changes