View source for Lepidocharon


{{TOC|right}}

{{Publication to wiki notice
 | author = Galassi, Diana M. P. AND Bruce, Niel L. AND Fiasca, Barbara AND Dole-Olivier, Marie-José
 | author_abbreviated = Galassi D AND Bruce N AND Fiasca B AND Dole-Olivier M
 | year = 2016
 | title = A new family Lepidocharontidae with description of ''Lepidocharon'' gen. n., from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and redefinition of the Microparasellidae (Isopoda, Asellota)
 | journal = ZooKeys
 | volume = 
 | issue = 594
 | pages = 11--50
 | doi = 10.3897/zookeys.594.7539
 | citationurl = http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=7539&element_type=9 
 | url = http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=7539
 | publisher = Pensoft Publishers
 | publisherurl = http://www.pensoft.net/
}}

{{Treatment start
 | Ordo = Isopoda
 | Familia = Lepidocharontidae
 | Genus = Lepidocharon
 | Specific name = 
 | Infraspecific name = 
 | Taxon rank = 	
 | Taxon authority = Galassi & Bruce
 | Taxon status = gen. n.
 | Wikispecies page name = Lepidocharon
 | ZooBank ID = 6263F663-8F45-43A2-8AFC-678DE31BD450
 | Pensoft Profile = Lepidocharon
}}

==Type species==
''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon priapus}}'' Galassi & Bruce, sp. n.; here designated.

==Other species==
''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon lizardensis}}'' Galassi & Bruce, sp. n.

==Diagnosis==
'''Male.''' Body slender, 8.5–9.7 as long as wide. Free pleonite narrower than pereionites and pleotelson, visible in dorsal view. Cephalon medio-frontal margin not produced, anterior margin straight, rostrum absent. Pereionites 1–3 anteriorly widest, with distinct anterolateral angle, pereionite 4 sub-rectangular, pereionites 5–7 posteriorly widest, lateral margin with distinct posterolateral angle. Pereionites dorsally ornamented by paired setae. Cuticle with small semicircular thickening present or absent both dorsally and ventrally. Antennula 6-segmented; long aesthetascs on articles 5 and 6, long brush seta on article 2 extending to tip of article 6. Antenna with 6 podomeres; article 3 with long blade-like or candle flame-like scale, reaching article 5; lateral margin with 2 setae; flagellum with 8–12 articles.<br />
Mandible palp article 1 unarmed, article 2 with 2 stiff spinulose setae, article 3 with 5 stiff spinulose setae. Right mandible: incisor with 6 to 9 cusps; ''lacinia mobilis'' absent; molar process conical, with 3 setae. Left mandible: incisor with 2 to 3 cusps; ''lacinia mobilis'' present and produced in 2 cusps; molar process conical, with 3 setae. Maxillula: mesial lobe slender and tapering at distal part, bearing 1 short apical seta accompanied by subapical shorter setae and lateral thin and short setae. Lateral lobe sub-rectangular in shape. Apical setation composed by a variable number of setae. Maxilla: mesial ramus with 8–9 setae; 1 apical comb-like seta, strong, unipinnate and ornamented with fine regularly-spaced setules parallel to one another. Lateral rami close-set, each bearing 4 slender and simple setae, respectively. Maxilliped palp wider than endite, mesial margin of articles 2 and 3 expanded. Pereiopods all subequal in length, all subsimilar in size and general morphology; all with 2 dactylar claws; pereiopod 1 dactylar claws subequal; pereiopods 2–7 superior claw slender (3.8–4.3× basal width), inferior claw robust (2.3–2.6× basal width). Coxae rudimentary reduced to small sclerites, not discernible in dorsal view, coalescent to body wall of the sternites, located on the anterior margin of the concavity which houses the propodus, and apparently not articulated to the sternites.<br />
Pleotelson 1.3–1.7 as long as wide, 1.7–1.9 as long as pereionite 7. Penial papillae opening on postero-medial margin of sternite 7. Pleopod 1 rami proximally fused; proximolateral margins with cuticular imbricate scales on posterior side; distolateral margins convex; stylet-guiding groove represented by a folded hyaline lamella running sub-parallel to free lateral margin of rami; pleopod 1 transverse stylet-guiding grooves absent, unlike ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}''. Pleopod 2 stylet long and slender, of variable length. Pleopod 3 endopod bearing 3 distal plumose setae; exopod elongate, lateral margin with thin setae, article 2 with 1 subapical seta; pleopod 4 rudimentary, ovoid, uniramous. Uropodal protopod as long as the pleotelson, slender (length/width ratio: 4.3), not sexually dimorphic, with long and slender exopod and endopod.<br />
'''Female.''' As for the male, except for sexual characters. Operculum (pleopod 2) longer than broad, with surface smooth or with semicircular thickening, with distal margin faintly incised, and 4 apical setae.

==Etymology==
The generic name is derived from the ancient Greek name ''λεπις'', ''λεπιδος'' meaning “scale”, which refers to the unique rim of scale-like elements bordering the proximal part of the first male pleopod on the posterior side, combined with the mythological name ''Charon'', ''Charontis'' referring to the Ferryman of Hades. Gender: masculine.

==Remarks==
''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' gen. n. is most similar to the genus ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon}}'', the two genera sharing the following characters: well-developed uropods with slender endopod and exopod; pereiopodal coxal plates not discernible in dorsal view, small, incorporated to the sternite body wall; male pleopod 1 with similar general organization, the distal lateral lobe with a folded hyaline lamella (stylet-guiding groove) running almost parallel to the lateral margins of the pleopod (this orientation and structure of the stylet-guiding groove appears different from that of ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'', where a transversal and oblique groove hosts the stylet of the male pleopod 2 which seems not to be enveloped by a hyaline lamella); pleopod 2 identical in the development of both exopod and endopod, the latter ending with a stylet of different length depending on the species; penial papillae small and located at the posteromesial margin of sternite 7; female operculum as long as the pleotelson, faintly incised, bearing 4 apical setae (a condition shared by some predominantly marine, and rarely freshwater, ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon}}'' species).<br />
''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' gen. n. shares with ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'' the morphology of the tergites, the first three pereionites with antero-lateral protrusions, the fourth sub-rectangular in shape, and the last three postero-laterally protruded, together with the lateral insertion of pereiopods 1–7 oriented outwards (''vs.'' ventrally in ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'', see Albuquerque et al. 2014<ref name="B1"> {{aut|Albuquerque E}}, {{aut|Boulanouar M}}, {{aut|Coineau N}} (2014) First record of ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'' nom. n. ({{Taxon name|Crustacea}}: {{Taxon name|Isopoda}}: {{Taxon name|Microparasellidae}}) in the South Atlantic: revision of the genus and description of a new Brazilian species. Journal of Natural History 48(29–39): 1817–1823. doi: 10.1080/00222933.2013.877996</ref >); pereiopodal coxal plates small in ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'', very reduced and incorporated to body wall in ''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' gen. n. The female operculum of ''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' is more than twice as long as wide, as long as the pleotelson, only faintly incised and bearing 4 apical setae, the mesial pair being close-set. These apical setae resemble that of ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'' species, where only the two close-set setae are present.<br />
''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' gen. n. differs from all the other lepidocharontid genera by the combination of the following morphological characters: (1) the unique presence of scale-like elements bordering the postero-lateral margins of the proximal part of the male pleopod 1; (2) pereionites with coxal plates hardly discernible, small, and incorporated into the sternite body wall, not visible in dorsal and lateral views; (3) the long and slender pereiopods that are inserted laterally and directed outwards; (4) pereionites that are not cylindrical, except pereionite 4 (''vs.'' cylindrical in ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon}}''); (5) the presence of elongate antennal scale (''vs.'' rudimentary in ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'', and generally reduced in ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon}}''); (6) the mandible incisor with up to 9 cusps (lower number of cusps in ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon}}'' and ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'').<br />
''{{Taxon name|Microcharon galapagoensis}}'' Coineau & Schmidt, 1979 is closer to ''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' gen. n., especially in the general body morphology, pereionite shape, slender pereiopods directed outwards, a long antennal scale, and slender and elongate uropods; however the unique scale-like elements of the male pleopod 1 of ''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' are not present in this species. These scales are not easily detected under optical microscopy (if not at 100× magnification), nor were they seen using SEM because located on the posterior side of the pleopod.<br />
The mid-section of the male pleopod 1 shows lateral margins expanded in both species of ''{{Taxon name|Lepidocharon}}'' gen. n. In contrast to the new genus, ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon galapagoensis}}'' shows a 5-segmented antennula. Coineau and Schmidt (1979)<ref name="B16"> {{aut|Coineau N}}, {{aut|Schmidt P}} (1979) Interstitielle Fauna von Galapagos, XXIV. {{Taxon name|Microparasellidae}} ({{Taxon name|Isopoda}}, {{Taxon name|Asellota}}). Mikrofauna des Meersbodens 73: 143–59.</ref > had informally proposed the creation of an intermediate group between the genus ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon}}'' and ''{{Taxon name|Janinella}}'' (formerly ''{{Taxon name|Paracharon}}'' Coineau, 1970) for ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon galapagoensis}}'' Coineau & Schmidt, 1979 (from marine interstitial habitats in the Galapagos), ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon salvati}}'' Coineau, 1970 (from coral sands in New Caledonia) and ''{{Taxon name|Microcharon herrerai}}'' Stock, 1977 (from brackish groundwater in the Netherlands Antilles) (Stock 1977<ref name="B37"> {{aut|Stock J}} (1977) {{Taxon name|Microparasellidae}} ({{Taxon name|Isopoda}}, {{Taxon name|Asellota}}) from Bonaire – with notes on the origin of the family. Studies on the fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean islands 51(168): 69–91.</ref >).

==Original Description==
*{{aut|Galassi, D}}; {{aut|Bruce, N}}; {{aut|Fiasca, B}}; {{aut|Dole-Olivier, M}}; 2016: A new family Lepidocharontidae with description of ''Lepidocharon'' gen. n., from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and redefinition of the Microparasellidae (Isopoda, Asellota) [http://www.pensoft.net/journals/zookeys/ ''ZooKeys'',] '''(594)''': 11-50. {{doi|10.3897/zookeys.594.7539}}



==Other References==

<references />