Anthuroidea

Belongs within: Cymothoida.
Contains: Cyathura.

The Anthuroidea are a group of elongate, predatory marine isopods. The scientific name refers the ‘flower-like’ appearance of the lateral uropods.

Flower-tails

Published 29 March 2011

Anthuroidea (or Anthuridea, depending on where you look) are small marine isopods that get up to a couple of centimetres in length. Anthuroids are distinguished from other isopods by their particularly narrow, elongate body form, as well as (in most species) their tail-fans with the component uropods arranged in a manner reminiscent of a ‘five-petalled flower’ (hence the name of the group, ‘flower-tails’). The one exception is the recently described Leipanthura casuarina in which the uropod branches are cylindrical rather than flattened; Leipanthura is a very small species (less than 3 mm long) and probably represents a neotenous form retaining a juvenile tail morphology into adulthood (Poore 2009).

The question of whether this group should be called Anthuridea or Anthuroidea relates to different proposals on their phylogenetic position. The name ‘Anthuridea’ is older (replacing an even earlier name, Aberrantia, that does not appear to have any recent usage) but was changed to Anthuroidea by Brandt & Poore (2003) when they reclassified anthuroids from a separate ‘suborder’ of isopods to a ‘superfamily’ within the suborder Cymothoida. In a more recent analysis by Wilson (2009), the monophyly of Cymothoida was supported by morphological data alone, but not by molecular data or combined analysis (in particular, several parasitic ‘cymothoid’ families such as Gnathiidae and Bopyridae formed a clade in the latter analyses that was sister to all other isopods). As the composition of the anthuroids has never altered under either name, the question of orthography is largely academic.

Anthuroids live hidden among sponges, corals, seaweeds, etc. or burrowed into sand, where they are active hunters of smaller invertebrates (as evidenced by their raptorial forelimbs). They have most commonly been recorded from shallow waters, but are also known from the deep sea (Kensley 1982). It is unclear whether their supposed rarity in deep-sea collections reflects poorer investigation, or whether the morphological conservatism of anthuroids compared to other isopod groups has restricted their ecological diversity. At least some species are protogynous sequential hermaphrodites (Brusca et al. 2001), that is, they begin life as females and transform later into males.

Systematics of Anthuroidea

Characters (from Menzies & Kruczynski 1983): Cylindrical, body over six times as long as wide. Pleon consisting of six somites plus telson (though some pleonites may be fused). Uropods lateral, often folding over telson. Mouthparts piercing and sucking, or cutting or biting.

<==Anthuroidea [Aberrantia, Anthuridea]
    |  i. s.: Belura pilara Poore & Lew Ton 1988BP03
    |         KupellonuraBP03
    |           |--K. biriwa Poore & Lew Ton 1988BP03
    |           `--K. probertiPG98
    |--Oscanthura [Hyssuridae]B86
    |--Expanathura Wagele 1981 [Expanathuridae]F05
    |--LeptanthuridaeMD01
    |    |--Leptanthura Sars 1897F05
    |    |    |--L. affinis (Bonnier 1896) [=Calathura affinis]S00
    |    |    |--L. apalpataPH13
    |    |    |--L. exilisPG98
    |    |    |--L. profundicolaPG98
    |    |    `--L. truncatitelsonPG98
    |    |--Bunderanthura Poore & Humphreys 2013PH13
    |    |    `--*B. bundera Poore & Humphreys 2013PH13
    |    |--Curassanthura Kensley 1981PH13
    |    |    |--C. bermudensis Wägele & Brandt 1985PH13
    |    |    |--C. canariensis Wägele 1985PH13
    |    |    |--C. halma Kensley 1981B86
    |    |    `--C. jamaicensis Kensley 1992PH13
    |    |--Bullowanthura Poore 1978PH13
    |    |    `--B. crebruiPG98
    |    |--Ulakanthura Poore 1978PH13
    |    `--Psittanthura Wägele 1985PH13
    |         `--P. egregiaPG98
    |--AntheluraMK83 [AntheluridaeMD01]
    |    `--A. affinis Richardson 1902MK83
    |--ParanthuridaeB86
    |    |--Cruregens Chilton 1881B86
    |    |    `--C. fontanus Chilton 1882PH13
    |    |--Accalathura Barnard 1925MK83
    |    |    |--*A. crenulata (Richardson 1901) [=Calathura crenulata]MK83
    |    |    `--A. crassa Barnard 1925MK83
    |    |--ColanthuraB86
    |    |    |--C. coecaB86
    |    |    |--C. ornata Carvacho 1977MK83
    |    |    `--C. tenuis Richardson 1902MK83
    |    `--Paranthura Bate & Westwood 1868MK83
    |         |--*P. costana Bate & Westwood 1868MK83
    |         |--P. antillensis Barnard 1925MK83
    |         |--P. barnardi Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
    |         |--P. floridensis Menzies & Kruczynski 1983MK83
    |         `--P. infundibulata Richardson 1902 [incl. P. verrillii Richardson 1902]MK83
    `--AnthuridaeB86
         |--CyathuraB86
         |--Xenanthura brevitelson Barnard 1925MK83
         |--Pendanthura tanaiformis Menzies & Glynn 1968MK83
         |--Ptilanthura tricarina Menzies & Frankenberg 1966MK83
         |--Apanthuroides millae Menzies & Glynn 1968MK83
         |--Horoloanthura irpex Menzies & Frankenberg 1966MK83
         |--EisothistosMK83
         |    |--E. atlanticus Vanhöffen 1914MK83
         |    `--E. vermiformisH15
         |--Panathura formosa Menzies & Frankenberg 1966MK83
         |--ApanthurettaB86
         |    |--A. lathridia Wägele 1982B86
         |    `--A. poriB86
         |--CaenanthuraB86
         |    |--C. indicaB86
         |    `--C. siamensisB86
         |--Skuphonura Barnard 1925MK83
         |    |--*S. laticeps Barnard 1925MK83
         |    `--S. lindae Menzies & Kruczynski 1983MK83
         |--MalacanthuraMK83
         |    |--M. caribbica Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
         |    `--M. cumanensis Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
         |--HaliophasmaMK83
         |    |--H. curri Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
         |    |--H. irmae Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
         |    |--H. novaezelandiaePG98
         |    |--H. platytelsonPG98
         |    `--H. valeriae Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
         |--ApanthuraMK83
         |    |--A. magnifica Menzies & Frankenberg 1966MK83
         |    |--A. signata Menzies & Glynn 1968MK83
         |    `--A. significa Paul & Menzies 1971MK83
         |--Mesanthura Barnard 1914MK83
         |    |--*M. catenula (Stimpson 1855) [=Anthura catenula]MK83
         |    |--M. decorata Menzies & Glynn 1968MK83
         |    |--M. floridensis Menzies & Kruczynski 1983MK93
         |    |--M. looensis Kensley & Schotte 1987BP03
         |    |--M. paucidens Menzies & Glynn 1968MK83
         |    `--M. pulchra Barnard 1925MK83
         |--Amakusanthura botosaneanui Negoescu 2004F05
         |--AnthuraE12
         |    |--A. filiformis Lucas 1846E12
         |    `--A. nigropunctata Lucas 1846E12
         `--Calathura Norman & Stebbing 1886S00
              |--C. brachiata (Stimpson 1853) [=Anthura brachiata; incl. Paranthura arctica Heller 1875]S00
              `--C. norvegica (Sars 1872) [=Paranthura norvegica]S00

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[B86] Botosaneanu, L. 1986. Isopoda: Anthuridea. In: Botosaneanu, L. (ed.) Stygofauna Mundi: A Faunistic, Distributional, and Ecological Synthesis of the World Fauna inhabiting Subterranean Waters (including the Marine Interstitial) pp. 428–433. E. J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys: Leiden.

[BP03] Brandt, A., & G. C. B. Poore. 2003. Higher classification of the flabelliferan and related Isopoda based on a reappraisal of relationships. Invertebrate Systematics 17: 893–923.

[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.

[F05] Fernández, J. 2005. Noticia de nuevos táxones para la ciencia en el ámbito Íbero-Balear y Macaronésico. Nuevos táxones animales descritos en la península Ibérica y Macaronesia desde 1994 (IX). Graellsia 61 (2): 261–282.

[H15] Hedley, C. 1915. Presidential address. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 49 (1): 1–77, pls 1–7.

Kensley, B. 1982. Deep-water Atlantic Anthuridea (Crustacea: Isopoda). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 346: 1–60.

[MD01] Martin, J. W., & G. E. Davis. 2001. An updated classification of the Recent Crustacea. Natural History Museum Los Angeles County, Science Series 39: 1–124.

[MK83] Menzies, R. J., & W. L. Kruczynski. 1983. Isopod Crustacea (exclusive of Epicaridea). Memoirs of the Hourglass Cruises 6 (1): 1–126.

Poore, G. C. B. 2009. Leipanthura casuarina, new genus and species of anthurid isopod from Australian coral reefs without a “five-petalled” tail (Isopoda, Cymothoida, Anthuroidea). ZooKeys 18: 171–180.

[PH13] Poore, G. C. B., & W. F. Humphreys. 2013. Bunderanthura bundera gen. et sp. nov. from Western Australia, first anchialine Leptanthuridae (Isopoda) from the Southern Hemisphere. Records of the Western Australian Museum 28 (1): 21–29.

[PG98] Probert, P. K., & S. L. Grove. 1998. Macrobenthic assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope off the west coast of South Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 28: 259–280.

[S00] Stebbing, T. R. R. 1900. Arctic Crustacea: Bruce collection. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 5: 1–16.

Wilson, G. D. F. 2009. The phylogenetic position of the Isopoda in the Peracarida (Crustacea: Malacostraca). Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny 67 (2): 159–198.