Family PRONOIDAE Claus, 1879

Eupronoe laticarpa

© Copyright from Zeidler 1998: fig. 40.

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Introduction

The Pronoidae are a small, poorly understood family of four genera and about 13 species, all of which have been reported from Australian waters. Pronoids have been reported mainly from the upper 200 m of water where apparently they are associated with siphonophores and, to a lesser extent, with medusae and salps (Laval 1980). Bowman & Gruner (1973) provided keys to the genera and Vinogradov et al. (1982; in Russian) provided keys to genera and species.

Diagnosis

Head as long as deep or deeper than long; anteroventral margin rounded; rostrum present or absent; eyes occupying most of lateral surface of head. Body laterally compressed. Antenna 1 shorter or longer than antenna 2; peduncle 3-articulate or 1- or 2-articulate; peduncular article 1 longer than article 2; article 2 longer than article 3; calceoli absent. Mouthparts reduced. Mandible molar absent; palp present or absent. Maxilla 1 present; inner plate absent; palp absent. Maxilla 2 inner plate absent. Gnathopod 1 simple; carpus shorter than, subequal to, or longer than propodus; dactylus minute. Gnathopod 2 dactylus minute. Pereopod 3 carpus shorter than, subequal to, or longer than propodus. Pereopod 5 longer than pereopod 6; basis without posteroventral lobe; carpus linear. Pereopod 6 longer than pereopod 7; basis expanded. Pereopod 7 basis expanded or linear. Urosomite 3 fused with telson or not. Uropod 2 inner ramus subequal to outer ramus. Uropod 3 not sexually dimorphic; biramous or uniramous.

General References

Bowman, T.E. & Gruner, H.E. 1973. The families and genera of Hyperiidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 146: 1-64

Dana, J.D. 1852. On the classification of the Crustacea Choristopoda or Tetradecapoda. American Journal of Science and Arts 2 14(41): 297-316

Laval, P. 1980. Hyperiid amphipods as crustacean parasitoids associated with gelatinous zooplankton. Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Reviews 18: 11-56

Vinogradov, M.E., Volkov, A.F. & Semenova, T.N. 1982. Amphipoda — Hyperiidea of the World Ocean. Nauka Leningrad U.S.S.R. Opred. po Faune S.S.S.R 132: 1-491 [in Russian]

Zeidler, W. 1998. Pelagic amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea) collected from eastern and south-eastern Australian waters by the CSIRO vessel "Warreen" during the years 1938–1941. Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) Monograph Series 4: 1-143

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