Sphaeroma Bosc, 1802

Khalaji-Pirbalouty, Valiallah & Wägele, Johann-Wolfgang, 2010, A new record of Sphaeroma annandalei Stebbing, 1911 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Sphaeromatidae) from the Persian Gulf, and description of a new related species (Sphaeroma silvai nov. sp.) from the South Atlantic Ocean, Zootaxa 2508, pp. 30-44 : 31

Genus Sphaeroma Bosc, 1802

Sphaeroma Bosc, 1802: 185 .— Harger 1880: 368.— Stebbing 1900: 552, 1904: 15, 1905:31.— Monod 1931.— Pillai 1955:127.— Menzies & Glynn 1968:27.— Jacobs 1978: 11.— Bruce 1993:155. Type species: Oniscus serratus Fabricius, 1787 .

Diagnosis. Diagnoses to the genus can be found in Monod (1931), Harrison & Holdich (1984) and Jacobs (1987).

Remarks. In contrast to the diagnosis given by Jacobs (1978), in some species (e.g., S. annandalei Stebbing, 1911 , S. silvai sp. nov.) inferior margins of maxilliped palp articles 2–4 have simple setae. Moreover, the semicircular distal margin of the maxilliped endite has in some species some plumose setae among the simple setae (e.g. S. annandalei , S. walkeri Stebbing, 1905 , and S. silvai sp. nov.). Pereopods 4–5 are shorter than the other pereopods with the basis bearing inferiorly extended lobes; merus, carpus and propodus are short.