Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

Museums

Regional Maps

Family PELTIDIIDAE Claus, 1860


Compiler and date details

31 May 2007 - G.K. Walker-Smith & K. Chilton-Lahey

Introduction

The authorship of Peltidiidae has been attributed to Sars (1904) by Lang (1948) and Huys et al. (1996). However, it appears that Claus (1860) was the first to use the name Peltidiidae (see Lang 1948: 426) and thus must be recognised as the author of the family.

The family comprises seven genera, according to Bodin (1997); five genera and nine species are listed here for the Australian fauna.

 

Diagnosis

Body. Distinctive, broad, dorso-ventrally flattened with strongly-developed integument which may be strengthened by antastomosing struts, sometimes forming a conspicuous pattern. P1-bearing somite incorporated into large and more or less flattened cephalothorax. rostrum usually broad, not defined at base. Epimeral plates of free prosomites, and sometimes first urosomite, laterally expanded. Urosome much shorter than prosome; female genital double-somite often backwardly produced and embracing rest of urosome.
Antennule. 5- to 9-segmented in female; haplocer in male.
Antenna. Basis and endopod-1 with 1 abexopodal seta. exopod 1- or 2-segmented.
Mandible. Gnathobase elongate. Basis usually with 3 setae. Rami minute, 1-segmented or exopod absent.
Maxillule. With elongate basis. Distinct exopod and rudiementary endopod each with 3 setae.
Maxilla. Syncoxa with 3 widely separated endites. Endopod a small segment or largely incorporated into allobasis.
Maxilliped. Subchelate. Basis with distal seta modified into spinulose pad.
P1. Exopod prehensile; consisting of 2 elongate segments and 1 small terminal segmentwith variable number of recurved spines (claws) and usually a more slender geniculate spine or seta. Exopod always more strongly-developed than 2- or 3-segmented endopod.
P2-P4. Basis transversely elongated. Rami 3-segmented. Rarely sexually dimorphic.
P5. In both sexes with poorly developed baseoendopod, sometimes fused with elongate exopod.

Females with 1 egg sac. Males with 1 spermatophore.

 

ID Keys

For a key to world genera see Huys et al. (1996) and Boxshall & Halsey (2004)

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
26-Jul-2012 02-Jul-2014 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)