Apseudidae, Leach, 1814

Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, M. & Bamber, R. N., 2007, New apseudomorph tanaidaceans (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from eastern Australia: Apseudidae, Whiteleggiidae, Metapseudidae and Pagurapseudidae, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 64, pp. 107-148 : 107-111

Apseudidae (including one new genus), two in Metapseudidae (including one new genus) and one in Pagurapseudidae .

The type material and other studied materials are deposited at Museum Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) .

Morphological terminology is as in Bamber and Sheader (2005) and Błażewicz-Paszkowycz and Bamber (2007), except that the plumose sensory setae commonly occurring on tanaidacean antennae and pereopod bases, inter alia, (“broom setae” sens. auctt.) are referred to as penicillate setae to be consistent with terminology in other crustacean groups (and because brooms have so many different shapes around the world); comb-rows of fine setules, occasionally present on maxillae and pereopod articles, inter alia, (e.g. fig. 24E) are referred to as microtrichia. Serially repetitive body-parts, such as the subdivisions of the antennal flagella and of the uropod rami are segments, while those with independent musculature (such as the parts of the pereopods) are articles. The term “spines” is used in the traditional (and etymologically correct) sense of rigid “thornlike” structures (avoiding the contextual oxymoron “spiniform setae” sensu Watling, 1989) to distinguish them from the flexible “hair-like” setae; non-articulating spiniform extensions of the cuticle are mainly considered to be apophyses.

Measurements are made axially, dorsally on the body and antennae, laterally on pereopods.

Sex determination is confusing in apseudomorphs owing to the phenomenon of hermaphroditism at certain stages of particular species which retain rudimentary oostegites and genital cones at the same time (Drumm and Heard, studies in progress). It is not the purpose of this paper to solve the problem of apseudomorph hermaphroditism; therefore we simplified the question and unless the marsupium was fully developed (in case of the females) or secondary sexual characters were apparent (in case of the males) the sex determination was avoided. Consequently, the individuals with both rudimentary oostegites and with genital cone were called hermaphrodite.