Aristeidae Wood-Mason, 1891

Tavares, Carolina R. & Serejo, Cristiana S., 2007, Taxonomy of Aristeidae (Dendrobranchiata: Penaeoidea) from the central coast of Brazil, collected by the Revizee program, between 19 º and 22 ºS, Zootaxa 1585, pp. 1-44 : 3-4

Family Aristeidae Wood-Mason, 1891

Rostrum sexually dimorphic in several genera, being elongate in females and juvenile males, short in adult males; usually only 3 dorsal rostral/postrostral spines; lacking ventral spines. Carapace lacking postorbital and pterygostomian spines; antennal and branchiostegal spines always present; postantennal spine rarely present and hepatic spines often lacking; cervical and postcervical sulci sometimes present, most often reaching dorsal midline, or almost absent and visible only laterally. Eye with optic calathus bearing mesial tubercle; ocular scale and styliform projection lacking. Antennule with prosartema reduced to setose boss; flagella unequal, dorsal flagellum short, flattened for most of its length, inserted proximally on third segment; ventral flagellum sexually dimorphic in some genera. Palp of first maxilla consisting of single curved article.

Exopods present on all maxillipeds, present or absent on pereopods. Thelycum open; sternite XIII with deep concavity, sternite XII with variously shaped shieldlike median protuberance.

Petasma open; ventral costa usually projecting free for variable fraction of its length, often extending as far as distal margin of lateral lobule Second pleopod of male bearing appendix masculina and appendix interna, lacking distolateral projection. Third abdominal somite sometimes carinate, fourth to sixth somites always carinate. Third through fifth pleopods biramous. Telson apically acute, bearing 3 or 4 pairs of movable lateral spines (modified from Pérez Farfante & Kensley, 1997).

Remarks: In the Dendrobranchiata gills are greatly used to separate superfamilies and in some families, as in Penaeidae and Aristeidae , they are used to separate genera. The position of gills in Aristeidae has been considered a generic character, and for each species herein studied the position of gills and epipods were figured and analysed ( Table 1 and Figs. 3 i, 6i, 9i, 12i, 15i, 18i, 21i, 24i). These structures proved to be important and informative in Aristeidae taxonomy and should be considered in future studies.

Another question concerning the Aristeidae taxonomy is the determination of the appendix masculina and the appendix interna. Perez Farfante & Kensley (1997) considered that the appendix interna is the one dorsal to the appendix masculina, and that the appendix masculina is the one ventral to the appendix interna. However, as these appendices are parallel to the body axis it is difficult to determine if they are dorsal or ventral in position. The concept of Burkenroad (1936) is clearer, as he considered the posteriormost appendix of the median side of the base of endopod of male second pleopod the appendix interna. In this work we agree with Burkenroad nomenclature, and the appendix masculina can be defined as the anteriormost appendix of the base of endopod, and the appendix interna is the posteriormost one (that is between appendix masculina and endopod).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Risso, 1827). Male, cl: 39.6 mm, MNRJ 14560, a) Left maxilliped 1; b) Left maxilliped 2; c) Left maxilliped 3; d) Left pereopod 1; e) Left pereopod 2; f) Left pereopod 3; g) Left pereopod 4; h) Left pereopod 5; i) Branchiae position, lateral view (numbers showing the fourth and the thirteenth segments).