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.
| Gnathiidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male (left), female (upper right), praniza (lower right) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Isopoda |
| Suborder: | Cymothoida |
| Superfamily: | Cymothooidea |
| Family: | Gnathiidae Leach, 1814 |
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]
- Afrignathia Hadfield & Smit, 2008
- Bathygnathia Dollfus, 1901
- Bythognathia Camp, 1988
- Caecognathia Dollfus, 1901
- Elaphognathia Monod, 1926
- Euneognathia Stebbing, 1893
- Gibbagnathia Cohen & Poore, 1994
- Gnathia Leach, 1814
- Monodgnathia Cohen & Poore, 1994
- Paragnathia Omer-Cooper & Omer-Cooper, 1916
- Tenerognathia Tanaka, 2005
- Thaumastognathia Monod, 1926
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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- ^ Jörundar Svavarsson (2006). "New species of Gnathiidae (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoida) from seamounts off northern New Zealand" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1173: 39–56.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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. doi:10.18268/BSGM2023v75n2a220323. ISSN 1405-3322. JSTOR 27221848.
External links
edit- Gnathiidae Australian Isopoda
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