Two new species and new host and distribution records of Leach, 1814 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Gnathiidae) from Western Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

from seagrass beds off Rottnest Island, Western Australia is the first record of any gnathiid from the entirety of Western Australia; the male can be distinguished from congeners by the stout peduncular articles of the antenna. is described from two adult specimens reared from praniza larvae found infecting elasmobranch fishes at Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef; the males can be distinguished from all congeners by the dorsally strongly elongate mandibles and smoothly rounded mediofrontal process on the anterior part of cephalosome. Gnathiaaff.

Partial redescriptions of three holothurians with hook papillae (Apodida: Chiridotidae): Taeniogyrus japonicus (Marenzeller, 1882), T. dendyi (Mortensen, 1925), Scoliorhapis theelii (Heding, 1928).

New specimens of Taeniogyrus japonicus (Marenzeller) were collected from Iwami coast and Sado island of the Sea of Japan. According to detailed observations of external and internal organs, we transferred T. japonicus, T.

First Record of Elasmobranch Hosts for the Gnathiid Isopod Crustacean : Description of sp. nov.

Gnathiid larvae (Crustacea; Isopoda; Gnathiidae) infesting elasmobranch and holocephalan fishes from mainly bathyal depths off Suruga Bay, off Kume-jima Island, and five sites from off Tokyo Bay to Shimoda City, Japan were examined. A total of 1460 gnathiid larvae were sampled from 87 host individuals belonging to seven families and 10 species. The morphology of these larvae was distinguishable from other gnathiid species by the head appendages.

Description of female adult and praniza larva of Tenerognathia visus Tanaka, 2005 (Crustacea; Isopoda; Gnathiidae) with notes on mating behavior.

Male adults of gnathiid isopods (Crustacea; Isopoda; Gnathiidae) have remarkably developed rectangular-shaped cephalosomes and mandibles in most species. Tenerognathia visus Tanaka, 2005 belongs to a monospecific genus having remarkable characters in male morphology; reduced mandibles and large eyes occupying the whole of an elliptical cephalosome. The original description of T.

A new species of the genus Elasmopus from Miyako Island, Japan (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Maeridae).

A new species of the maerid amphipod, Elasmopus nkjaf, from Miyako Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, is named and described. Additionally, nucleotide sequences of nuclear 28S ribosomal RNA and histone H3 as well as mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal RNA from its holotype and paratype were determined. Elasmopus nkjaf sp.

Pigmentation patterns are useful for species identification of third-stage larvae of gnathiids (Crustacea: Isopoda) parasitising coastal elasmobranchs in southern Japan.

Previous studies from southern Japan reported larval stages of eight gnathiid isopod species parasitising coastal elasmobranchs. Since gnathiid larvae of these different species closely resembled each other, it was necessary to obtain specimens of free-living adult males for identification to the species level. This was achieved by allowing larvae of the final stage to moult into adult males.

Three new gnathiid species with larvae ectoparasitic on coastal sharks from southwestern Japan (Crustacea: Isopoda).

Gnathiid larvae were collected from the gill chambers of coastal sharks in southwestern Japan. Some were reared in a laboratory aquarium and successfully metamorphosed into adults. Morphological observations of the adult males identified three undescribed species, which are designated Gnathia albipalpebrata n.

Redescription of five gnathiid species from Japan (Crustacea: Isopoda).

Five gnathiid species from Japan are redescribed based on14 holotypes, their paratypes, topotypes, and new materials. Observations of these specimens revealed that Caecognathia kikuchii (Nunomura, 1992) should be transferred to genus Elaphognathia and Caecognathia nasuta (Nunomura, 1992) to genus Gnathia. Furthermore, Caecognathia amakusaensis Nunomura, 1992, C.

A new species of Gnathia (Isopoda: Cymothoida: Gnathiidae) from Okinawajima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, southwestern Japan.

Gnathia limicola sp. nov. is described from Okinawajima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, southwestern Japan.