Gnathiidae
Family of crustaceans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gnathiidae are a family of isopod crustaceans. They occur in a wide range of depths, from the littoral zone to the deep sea. Gnathiidae have only five pairs of walking legs.[1] The adults are associated with sponges and may not feed.[2] The juvenile form is known as a 'praniza', and it is a temporary parasite of marine fish.[2][3] These forms are not larvae; Gnathiidae instead become parasitic during the manca stage. Mancae of the Gnathiidae closely resemble the adult form, however they lack the final pair of pereiopods.
| Gnathiidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male (left), female (upper right), praniza (lower right) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Isopoda |
| Suborder: | Cymothoida |
| Superfamily: | Cymothooidea |
| Family: | Gnathiidae Leach, 1814 |
Taxonomy in the family relies on male characters, such that females and juveniles cannot be reliably identified.[2] The family contains 182 species,[4] divided among the following genera:[5]
- Afrignathia Hadfield & Smit, 2008
- Bathygnathia Dollfus, 1901
- Bythognathia Camp, 1988
- Caecognathia Dollfus, 1901
- Elaphognathia Monod, 1926
- Euneognathia Stebbing, 1893
- Gibbagnathia Cohen & Poore, 1994
- Gnathia Leach, 1814
- Monodgnathia Cohen & Poore, 1994
- Paragnathia Omer-Cooper & Omer-Cooper, 1916
- Tenerognathia Tanaka, 2005
- Thaumastognathia Monod, 1926
The extinct Jurassic genus Urda is thought to represent a stem-group to the family, and is suggested to have had a similar parasitic lifestyle.[6][7]
