Naushonia Kingsley 1897

Lira, Simone Maria De Albuquerque, Santana, Claudeilton Severino De & Schwamborn, Ralf, 2018, First record of Naushonia sp. (Decapoda: Laomediidae) larva from the Equatorial Atlantic, Zootaxa 4387 (1), pp. 183-194 : 184

Genus Naushonia Kingsley 1897

Diagnosis for the larvae. First zoea-stage larvae (trachelifer larvae sensu Williamson 1957) with long and laterally compressed body; rostrum small, smooth and curved upward; eyes spherical; unstalked carapace long, slender in its anterior portion; supra-orbital, dorsal and pterygostomian spines absent; mandibles asymmetrical and not completely covered by carapace; paragnath pronounced; pleural spines turned forward with their tips curved inward, present on abdominal somites 1-5; telson triangular with spinous process and five plumose setae inside the furca; two small outer spines (anomuran hair) on each telsonal furca (modified from Gurney & Lebour 1939; Goy & Provenzano 1978; Fernandes & Bonecker 2008).

The identification of Naushonia larvae is straightforward (Konishi 2001). In general, the larval forms of the Laomediidae differ from other decapods in their asymmetrical mandibles and characteristic abdominal somites (Konishi 2001). Misidentification of larvae of this family in routine plankton studies is unlikely, except for some larvae of the Thalassinidae . The first larva of this genus, N. crangonoides , was described by Thompson (1903). His study described the general morphology and anatomical details of the larva and compared it to the very similar laomediid genus Jaxea . The main differences are a less arcuate rostrum of Jaxea , which is not recurved at the tip, the relatively longer neck, the presence of hooks on the angles of the sixth as well as the anterior abdominal segments in the zoea stage (Thompson 1903). The larval forms of this family are clearly distinguishable at genus level (Konishi 2001), e.g., Naushonia and Axianassa both present mandibles that are located in the anterior part of the carapace, but the rostrum of Naushonia is shorter and more upturned than Axianassa (Konishi 2001) .