Taxonomic revision of Natatolana (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cirolanidae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Natatolana Bruce, 1981 is one of the most speciose, widespread and abundant isopod genera occurring in marine environments. Species in the genus are ecologically important as scavengers and occasionally have a negative impact on commercial fisheries by feeding on catches restrained in traps, nets or on lines. The study of Natatolana species is hampered by difficulties in identification, inadequate descriptions and a lack of overall taxonomic revision. In this study, taxonomic, biogeographical and ecological information is reviewed for all 72 species of Natatolana now recognized worldwide. A revised generic diagnosis, a key to species, and diagnoses and synonymies for all species are presented.

Revision of the cirolanid isopod genus Odysseylana Malyutina, 1995 (Crustacea) with description of two new species from Singapore

“…Malyutina (1995) placed Odysseylana in the Conilera group of Bruce (1986) [= Conilerinae of Kensley & Schotte (1989)], sharing characters such as the short antennula, quadrate pleopod 1 peduncle, superodistal angles of pereopod 1-3 ischium and merus strongly produced and setose, and pereopods 5-7 with the ischium to carpus generally flattened and setose, sometimes the distal margin of the article also being expanded. In contrast Odysseylana differs significantly from that group in several critical characters, notably the antennal peduncle has articles 4 and 5 longest, the frontal lamina is pentagonal and relatively wide, with distinct anterolateral angles, pereopods 1-3 have the superodistal angles of the ischium and merus only moderately produced, and have a distinct secondary unguis on the dactylus; all these characters are in strong contrast to genera such Politolana Bruce, 1981(Riseman & Brusca 2002, Natatolana Bruce, 1981 (Keable 2006) and Dolicholana Bruce, 1981(Keable 1999). In conclusion we do not consider that Odysseylana belongs with the Conilera group of genera.…”

Fossil isopods associated with a fish skeleton from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia – direct evidence of a scavenging lifestyle in Mesozoic Cymothoida

“…Using the key of extant ‘ Conilera ’ group taxa developed by Wetzer et al. (1987), with the assumption that the antennular article 4 is tiny and therefore not resolved in our specimens, one arrives at Natatolana Bruce, 1981 (recently summarized in Keable 2006). Our fossils, however, do not belong in this genus because the posterior pereopods are narrow and lack expanded bases.…”

“…Character states were recorded in a taxonomic database using the DELTA system (Dallwitz 1980; Dallwitz et al. 2000 a , b ), with definitions derived from the Cirolanidae character set developed by S. J. Keable (Keable 2001, 2006) but modified to provide consistent nomenclature (Wilson 2009) and to accommodate specific information from the fossils. A natural language description, generated using the DELTA tool CONFOR, was edited for clarity (e.g.…”

A new genus for Cirolana troglexuma Botosaneanu & Iliffe, 1997, an anchialine cave dwelling cirolanid isopod (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from the Bahamas

“…Classification follows Brandt and Poore (2003), while terminology follows Keable (2006) and pereopod orientation Bruce (2009). Pencil drawings were made using a Leica DM 2500 compound microscope with a camera lucida.…”