Gnathiidae
Male (left), female (upper right), praniza (lower right)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Superorder: Peracarida
Order: Isopoda
Suborder: Cymothoida
Superfamily: Cymothooidea
Family: Gnathiidae
Leach, 1814

The Gnathiidae are a family of isopod crustaceans. They occur in a wide range of depths, from the littoral zone to the deep sea. The adults are associated with sponges and may not feed.[1] The juvenile form is known as a 'praniza', and it is a temporary parasite of marine fish.[1][2] These forms are not larvae; Gnathiidae instead become parasitic during the manca stage. Mancae of the Gnathiidae closely resemble the adult form, however they lack the final pair of pereiopods.

Drawings of Gnathiidae by Hesse (1864)[2]

Taxonomy in the family relies on male characters, such that females and juveniles cannot be reliably identified.[1] The family contains 182 species,[3] divided among the following genera:[4]

The extinct Jurassic genus Urda is thought to represent a stem-group to the family, and is suggested to have had a similar parasitic lifestyle.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Richard Brusca, Vania R. Coelho & Stefano Taiti (2001). "Suborder Gnathiidae [sic]". Guide to the Coastal Marine Isopods of California. Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Hesse, Eugène (1864). Mémoire sur les pranizes et les ancées et sur les moyens curieux à l'aide desquels certains crustacés parasites assurent la conservation de leur espèce. Extrait du Tome XMII des Mémoires Présentés par Divers Savants à l'Institut Impérial de France. Paris, J. B. Baillière et Fils, Libraire de l’Académie Impériale de Médecine. BHL PDF in BHL
  3. ^ Jörundar Svavarsson (2006). "New species of Gnathiidae (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoida) from seamounts off northern New Zealand" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1173: 39–56.
  4. ^ WoRMS (2010). M. Schotte; C. B. Boyko; N. L. Bruce; G. C. B. Poore; S. Taiti; G. D. F. Wilson (eds.). "Gnathiidae". World Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  5. ^ Nagler, Christina; Hyžný, Matúš; Haug, Joachim T. (2017-03-09). "168 million years old "marine lice" and the evolution of parasitism within isopods". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (1): 76. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0915-1. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 5345136. PMID 28279151.
  6. ^ Schädel, Mario; Nagler, Christina; Hyžný, Matúš (2023). "Fossil relatives of extant parasitic crustaceans from the Mesozoic of Europe - Parientes fósiles de parásitos actuales de crustáceos, del Mesozoico de Europa". Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana. 75 (2): 1–57. ISSN 1405-3322. JSTOR 27221848.

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