Spelunconiscus, Campos-Filho & Araujo & Bichuette & Trajano & Taiti, 2014

Campos-Filho, Ivanklin Soares, Araujo, Paula Beatriz, Bichuette, Maria Elina, Trajano, Eleonora & Taiti, Stefano, 2014, Terrestrial isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) from Brazilian caves, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (Zool. J. Linn. Soc.) 172 (2), pp. 360-425 : 363-365

GENUS SPELUNCONISCUS CAMPOS- FILHO, ARAUJO & TAITI GEN. NOV.

Type species: Spelunconiscus castroi Campos- Filho, Araujo & Taiti sp. nov.

Diagnosis

Body slightly convex, unable to roll up into a ball, with pleon slightly narrower than pereon. Cephalon with small antennary lobes and distinct suprantennal line. Pleonites 3–5 with epimera reduced, adpressed, without visible posterior points. Antennule of three articles, with a line of short and thickset aesthetascs on distal article. Antenna with flagellum of several articles, no visible aesthetascs. Right mandible with one penicil; left mandible with two penicils. Maxillule outer branch with 5 + 5 teeth, all entire, and two slender setose stalks; inner branch with three penicils at apex. Maxilla with outer lobe much broader than inner lobe. Maxilliped with basis enlarged on distal portion; endite narrow bearing a large apical penicil. Pereopods with unbranched and glabrous dactylar setae. Uropod with endopod and exopod inserted at the same level. Pleopod exopods with a fringe of thin setae along margins. Genital papilla lanceolate. Male pleopod 1 exopod longer than endopod, endopod two-jointed with flagelliform distal article. Male pleopod 2 endopod robust, distal portion narrow, triangular.

Etymology

From the Latin spelunca = cave + Oniscus .

Remarks

At present, Styloniscidae includes with certainty ten genera ( Schmalfuss, 2003; Taiti & Xue, 2012): Clavigeroniscus Arcangeli, 1930 , Cordioniscus Graeve, 1914 , Indoniscus Vandel, 1952a , Kuscheloniscus Strouhal, 1961 , Notoniscus Chilton, 1915 , Paranotoniscus Barnard, 1932 , Pectenoniscus Andersson, 1960 , Styloniscus Dana, 1853 , Thailandoniscus Dalens, 1989 , and Trogloniscus Taiti & Xue, 2012 ; Madoniscus Paulian de Félice, 1950 might also belong to this family ( Schmalfuss, 2003). Styloniscidae is divided into three subfamilies: Styloniscinae , Notoniscinae, and Kuscheloniscinae ( Strouhal, 1961). The new genus belongs to Styloniscinae , which also includes Styloniscus , Cordioniscus , Clavigeroniscus , Indoniscus , Thailandoniscus , Trogloniscus , and probably Pectenoniscus ( Taiti & Xue, 2012) . Spelunconiscus gen. nov. is readily distinguishable from all these genera in having the antennule with short and thickset aesthetascs, the dactylar seta unbranched and glabrous, instead of bifid and setose, and the male pleopod 1 exopod longer than endopod. It also differs from Styloniscus and Cordioniscus in the genital papilla not enlarged distally, from Trogloniscus in the antennal flagellum having several articles (only three in Trogloniscus ), from Clavigeroniscus and Thailandoniscus by the male pleopod 2 endopod distally triangular, and not truncate.