Lithoglyptidae Aurivillius, 1892:133

Kolbasov, Gregory A. & Newman, William A., 2005, Revision of the Lithoglyptidae sensu Tomlinson, 1969 and Lithoglyptes Aurivillius, 1892 (Cirripedia, Acrothoracica,), including a new species from Bermuda, Zootaxa 1013 (1), pp. 35-64 : 39-40

Family Lithoglyptidae Aurivillius, 1892:133

See synonymy of Tomlinson 1969:31, less Kochlorininae Gruvel, 1905 , nom. trans. herein.

Early attempts to provide a meaningful classification of the pygophoran acrothoracicans at the familial level appeared largely unnatural and, therefore, while Tomlinson (1969) rightly spared the Cryptophialidae Gerstaecker, 1866 , he synonymized five extant and the two fossil families with the Lithoglyptidae . The Cryptophialidae is distinguished from the Lithoglyptidae by numerous characters including having a more or less well­developed neck supporting the opercular bars and internally by vestigial maxillipeds (the first or socalled mouth cirri) and a much elongate rather than a short, bullate or moderately pointed labrum.

The Lithoglyptidae , as envisaged by Tomlinson (1969), included six genera, some of which appear more closely related to each other than to other genera, and to add to the potential confusion we propose splitting the principal genus, Lithoglyptes s.l., into three genera. Thus, in order to formally ally the closely related lithoglyptid genera, we propose the resurrection of one of the families synonymized by Tomlinson (1969), but at the subfamilial rather than the familial level, and to erect a new subfamily to accommodate the remainder. These are, in addition to Lithoglyptinae Aurivillius, 1892 , Weltneriinae subfam. nov. and Kochlorininae Gruvel, 1905 nom. trans herein. The justification for uniting Berndtia Utinomi, 1950a with Weltneria under the Weltneriinae is their having five pairs of terminal cirri and relatively similar opercular bars, the lack of caudal appendages in Berndtia being an autapomorph separating them. The underlying rational is that loss of a pair of cirri is a much greater change than the loss of caudal appendages and, therefore, Berndtia is more closely allied to Weltneria than to say Lithoglyptes . These same arguments apply to allying Lithoglyptes and Balanodytes under the Lithoglyptinae (four pairs of terminal cirri, caudal appendages lost in Balanodytes). On the other hand, Stubbings (1967) utilized a different criterion in distinguishing his Kochlorinopsis from Kochlorine since their appendages were the same. These subfamilies, in ascending order of increasing specialization (apomorphies), their distinguishing characteristics, included genera and the numbers of species are as follows:

1) Subfamily Weltneriinae nov., characterized by five pairs of terminal cirri, with or without caudal appendages. Weltneria Berndt, 1907:289 with caudal appendages, 12 spp., W. spinosa Berndt, 1907:289 the type; Berndtia Utinomi, 1950a:7 , without caudal appendages, three spp., B. purpurea Utinomi, 1950a:7 the type.

2) Subfamily Lithoglyptinae Aurivillius, 1892 (nom. trans. Lithoglyptidae Aurivillius, 1892 herein, = Chytraeidae Utinomi, 1950c:457 and Balanodytidae Utinomi, 1950b: 99 in part), characterized by four pairs of terminal cirri, with or without caudal appendages. Lithoglyptes Aurivillius, 1892 with caudal appendages, 15 spp., L. indicus Aurivillius, 1892 the type; Balanodytes Utinomi, 1950b:95 * without caudal appendages, monotypic, B. taiwanus Utinomi, 1950b the type. This subfamily will include the new species and the two new genera to be described below.

* Utinomi (1950b:95) proposed a monotypic genus, Balanodytes, for a new species, B. taiwanus from Taiwan. Tomlinson (1969) subsequently described what he believed to be Balanodytes taiwanus Utinomi from the Marshall Islands. In both cases not only had the material been damaged by fungi and in preparation, it was no longer available. Therefore, when Kolbasov (2000c) discovered several specimens from Fiji similar to the form Tomlinson attributed to B. taiwanus , but having caudal appendages, he suggested that not only might Tomlinson’s form be a Lithoglyptes , it could be a representative of his new species, L. balanodytes Kolbasov, 2000c . Furthermore, if Balanodytes taiwanus Utinomi, 1950b also proved to a Lithoglyptes , L. habei Tomlinson, 1963 would be a potential junior synonym. But more importantly, the status of the genus Balanodytes as well as forms purportedly representing it would also be open to question. However, it will take material from the original localities to settle this matter.

3) Subfamily Kochlorininae Gruvel, 1905 (nom. trans. Kochlorinidae Gruvel, 1905 herein), characterized by three pairs of terminal cirri and caudal appendages, Kochlorine Noll, 1872 , seven spp., K. hamata Noll, 1872 the type; Kochlorinopsis Stubbings, 1967 , monotypic, K. discoporellae Stubbings, 1967 the type.