Family SANTIIDAE Kussakin, 1988
Introduction
Santiids comprise a family of marine benthic shallow-water isopods with a mainly southern distribution. Wolff (1989) listed 19 species in five genera. Kensley (1982) placed the only Australian species described from this family in the Pleurocopidae Fresi & Schiecke, 1972 but this family has been confined.
Only one Australian species is known but several undescribed species of the widespread genus Santia Sivertsen & Holthuis, 1980 are common. The name Santiidae, replacing Antiasidae Nordenstam, 1933, is based on the genus Santia, replacement name for Antias Richardson, 1906, a preoccupied name. It was introduced expressly by Kussakin (1988) as a nom. nov. but he had used it without explanation in 1982, as had Wilson (1987: fig. 5B) when redrawing a figure by Fresi et al. (1980). These earlier uses did not meet the criterion of ICZN Article 13.1.2. The diagnosis is from Wolff (1989).
Diagnosis
Body small, oval, rather flattened (except Prethura), rarely with subparallel margins. Head broader than long. Eyes on lateral processes or rounded protuberances. Pereonites 5–7 reduced in size. Usually 1 free pleonite. Opening of cuticular organ ventral. Antenna 1 short, with 2 stout articles in peduncle and 3 or 4 articles in flagellum; 1 to 3 long aesthetascs distally. Antenna 2 shorter than body, with 4 short proximal and 2 long distal articles in peduncle; antennal scale rarely present. Molar process of mandible subcylindrical, truncate. Maxillipedal palp narrow, less than half width of endite; 2 (rarely 3) coupling hooks. Coxae visible from above on at least pereonites 5–7. Pereopod 1 prehensile, with opposition between dactylus and propodus; pereopods 2–7 ambulatory, with 2 claws on dactylus. Pleopod 1 in male broadest at base and more or less truncate distally (except in Prethura and Kuphomunna). Uropods on posterolateral margin of pleotelson, with peduncle and 1 to 2 rami. Anus terminally exposed.
General References
Fresi, E., Idato, E. & Scipione, M.B. 1980. The Gnathostenetroidea and the evolution of primitive asellote isopods. Monitore Zoologico Italiano ns 14: 119-136
Kensley, B. 1982. Prethura hutchingsae, new genus, new species, an asellote isopod from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Crustacea: Isopoda: Pleurocopidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology 2: 255-260
Kussakin, O.G. 1982. Supplement to the fauna of Crustacea Isopoda in shelf zones of the Antarctic (from material collected by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition 1965-1968). pp. 73-109 in Kafanov, A.I. (ed.). Fauna and distribution of Crustacea in Natal and Antarctic waters. Vladivostok : Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Scientific Centre of the Academy of Sciences USSR. [in Russian]
Kussakin, O.G. 1988. Marine and brackish-water Crustacea (Isopoda) of cold and temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere. 3. Suborder Asellota 1. Janiridae, Santiidae, Dendrotionidae, Munnidae, Haplomunnidae, Mesosignidae, Haploniscidae, Mictosomatidae, Ischnomesidae. Opredeliteli po Faune SSSR 152: 1-501 [in Russian]
Wilson, G.D.F. 1987. The road to the Janiroidea: comparative morphology and evolution of the asellote isopod crustaceans. Zeitschrift für Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung 25: 257-280
Wolff, T. 1989. The genera of Santiidae Kussakin, 1988, with the description of a new genus and species (Crustacea, Isopoda, Asellota). Steenstrupia 15: 177-191