Family PHTISICIDAE Vassilenko, 1968

Quadrisegmentum triangulum

© Copyright J.M. Guerra-Garía.

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Introduction

Phtisicid amphipods are found mainly in the western Pacific, the eastern North Atlantic and the tropical western Atlantic. The world fauna currently comprises 23 genera (McCain & Steinberg 1970; Takeuchi 1993). The phtisicid amphipods are currently separated into two subfamilies, the Dodecinae and the Phtisicinae, which are distinguished by changes in the structure of pereopods 3 to 5.

Phtisicids, like many other caprellideans, are found mainly on algae, seagrasses or bryozoans where they prey on small invertebrates.

Diagnosis

Body cylindrical. Antenna 2 flagellum shorter than peduncle. Mouthparts well developed. Mandible molar absent. Maxilliped outer plates vestigial. Pereopods heteropodous (3–4 directed posteriorly, 5–7 directed anteriorly). Pereopod 3 dactylus small or poorly developed. Uropod 2 well developed.

General References

Laubitz, D.R. 1993. Caprellidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda): towards a new synthesis. 965-976 in Moore, P.G. & Watling, L. (eds). Amphipods, a noble obsession: essays in memory of J. Laurens Barnard (1928–1991). Journal of Natural History 27(4): 725-988

McCain, J.C. & Steinberg, J.E. 1970. Part 2. Amphipoda I Caprellidea I Fam. Caprellidae. pp. 1-78 in Gruner, H.-E & Holthuis, L.B. (eds). Crustaceorum Catalogus. Den Haag : Dr W. Junk N.V

Takeuchi, I. 1993. Is the Caprellidea a monophyletic group? 947-964 in Moore, P.G. & Watling, L. (eds). Amphipods, a noble obsession: essays in memory of J. Laurens Barnard (1928–1991). Journal of Natural History 27(4): 723-988

Vassilenko, S.V. 1968. On the taxonomy and basic development lines of the family Caprellidae (Amphipoda, Caprellidea). Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Doklady 183: 1461-1464 [in Russian]