Entoniscidae
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| Entoniscidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Portunion conformis (black pointer) within the body cavity of the crab Hemigrapsus nudus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Isopoda |
| Suborder: | Cymothoida |
| Infraorder: | Epicaridea |
| Superfamily: | Bopyroidea |
| Family: | Entoniscidae Kossmann, 1881[1] |
| Genera | |
|
see text | |
The Entoniscidae are a family of marine isopod crustaceans in the suborder Cymothoida.[2] Members of this family are parasites of brachyuran and anomuran crabs, living in their hosts' haemocoel. A small chitinised hole develops through the host's exoskeleton through which the isopod can communicate with the environment. The female isopod bears little resemblance to any free-living isopod, but the morphology of the larvae show their taxonomic affiliations.[3]
