Spherarmadillo, RICHARDSON, 1907

Schmidt, Christian, 2007, Revision of the Neotropical Scleropactidae (Crustacea: Oniscidea), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 151, pp. 1-339 : 27

SPHERARMADILLO RICHARDSON, 1907

Type species: Spherarmadillo schwarzi Richardson, 1907 (by original designation and monotypy).

Diagnosis

Crinocheta with endoantennal conglobating ability. Cephalothorax with frontal shield appressed to the vertex. Eyes at most represented by a patch of dark pigment. First coxal plate with schisma. Pleotelson exceeded by uropods, not reaching the body outline. Noduli laterales distinct, larger than tergal scale setae, at small distance from the posterior margin of the tergites.

Second antenna with three-jointed flagellum bearing a slender apical cone with one small lateral free sensillum (or a pair of small sensilla?). Mandibles: right mandible with pars incisiva forming a broad surface exceeded by four short cusps; small, simple lacinia mobilis. Left mandible with well-developed four-cusped pars incisiva and very large lacinia mobilis with three short cusps. Paris molaris represented by a single, strong hairy seta. First maxilla lateral endite with nine simple tooth setae, one smaller ‘triangular lobe’ (a reduced tooth seta), and one very small, thin seta (homologous with the ‘slen- der stalk’ found in other taxa). Mesal endite with two stout penicils, and laterodistal corner rounded, but bearing a small point or seta. Maxilliped endite without penicil, but with three simple setae. Maxilliped palp on the proximal article with one large seta. Pereiopod 1 with a scale-brush (for cleaning the second antennae) that is very oblique, nearly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the carpus. Pleopod exopodites lacking distinct respiratory fields. Male pleopod 1 endopodite with subapical hook on the lateral face. Uropod sympodite angular; the portion visible in dorsal view is broader than long, exopodite very small, inserted on the dorsal face near the median margin.

Remark

As well as the type species, two species from Mexico were assigned to this genus ( Mulaik, 1960). One new species is described below, so the genus includes four species .