Cyathura Norman & Stebbing, 1886

Heard, Richard W. & Vargas, Rita, 2015, Cyathura odaliscae, a new species of anthurid isopod (Crustacea: Peracarida) from a brackish habitat on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Zootaxa 3915 (3), pp. 423-432 : 423-424

Cyathura Norman & Stebbing, 1886

Diagnosis (modified from Poore 2001). Female. —Body irregularly pigmented, smooth or in part finely setulate (pubescent). Eyes usually present. Mandibular palp with distal article (article 3) having 1–4 terminal or subterminal setae, or with distal oblique margin bearing 10–15 setae. Maxilliped having reduced coxa with epipod usually small and rounded, basal article about as long or longer than palp, endite usually absent or if present vestigial (obsolete); palp partially fused into two apparent articles. Pereopod 1 having palm of propodus armed with subacute tubercle or process. Uropod with articulation of exopod relatively long along lateral margin of protopod; exopod well-developed, leaf or “elephant ear-shaped”. Pleonites 1–5 fused, together shorter than wide; pleonite 6 fused with telson, with (delineated by shallow suture) or without indication of posterior margin. Male. —Generally like that of female, except: antenna 1 with flagellum having 4–5 aesthetasc-bearing articles. Pereopods generally more elongate than in females and subadults. Pleopod 2 with copulatory stylet (appendix masculina) morphologically simple or complex.

Remarks: With the inclusion of the recently described C. shanghaiensis Liu, Poore, & Chen, 2013 and the new Costa Rican species described herein, the genus Cyathura is presently composed of 32 species mostly brackish and marine species, and rarely freshwater (see Liu et al. 2013, Table 1 ). Bathymetric ranges for the genus are from the intertidal zone to depths of over 2700 m (see Liu et al. 2013; Poore 2001; Schotte et al. 1995 onwards; Table 1 ). In error, Poore (2001) in his diagnosis for Cyathura described the appendix masculina (male copulatory stylet) as “ending simply,” instead of ending simply or complexly (e.g., members of the northern Atlantic C. carinata complex).

Stygocyathura Botosaneanu & Stock, 1982 represents a stygian assemblage with narrow uropodal exopods and the absence of developed eyes ( Poore 2001). Botosaneanu & Stock (1982) originally designated Stygocyathura as a subgenus of Cyathura sensu lato, but it was later raised to full generic rank (see Poore 2001). Its subgeneric status, however, remains recognized by some authorities (e.g., Botosaneanu & Stock 1997; Botosaneanu 2003, 2008).