Coxicerberus littoralis (Chappuis & Delamare-Deboutteville, 1956)

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Suggested Common Name: Reef Beach-Cerberus
Etymology: lītorālis = of the seashore [latin], although ironically this species has not been reported from the littoral zone. Common name alludes to the apparent sublitorral habitat of this species
Taxonomic History: Microcerberus littoralis Chappuis & Delamare-Deboutteville, 1956; Coxicerberus littoralis Wägele, Voelz & Vaun McArthur, 1995
Size Range: not described
Description: (modified from Chappuis & Delamare-Deboutteville, 1956) Body robust (in comparison to C. mirabilis). Antenna 1 short, 5-segmented, segment 5 with long slender septate apical aesthetasc. Antenna 2 peduncle 6-segmented, segment 6 with plumose lateral seta; flagellum 5-6-segmented with weak apical aesthetasc. Pereonites 2-4 medial lobes short-rounded, separated by shallow notch; lateral lobes acute, 3x longer than medial lobes. ♂ pleopod 2 functionally undescribed, original description based of juvenile ♂’s, but most likely typical of the remanei group with an elongate free cannula. Uropod exopod minute.
Geographic Range: Currently only known from Bimini, where it has been recorded from offshore reefs at various locations around the island.
Notes: This species is currently the only member of Coxicerberus reported from our area that has not been found on a beach but rather on offshore sandbars. C. littoralis was described off a juvenile ♂, rendering the pleopod 2 functionally undescribed past extremely basic features that allow it to be placed in the remanei group (Baldari & Argano, 1984).

Sources

Baldari, F., & Argano, R. (1984). Description of a new species of Microcerberus from the South China Sea and a proposal for a revised classification of the Microcerberoidea (Isopoda). Crustaceana, 46(2):113-126.

Chappuis, P. A., & Deboutteville, C. D. (1956). Études sur la faune interstitielle de Iles Bahamas récoltée par Madame Renaud-Debyse. I Copépodes et Isopodes. Vie et Milieu, 7(3):373-396.

Wägele, J. W., Voelz, N. J., & Vaun McArthur, J. (1995). Older than the Atlantic Ocean: discovery of a fresh-water Microcerberus (Isopoda) in North America and erection of Coxicerberus, new genus. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 15(4):733-745.

Published: Feb 15, 2023