Carpias Richardson, 1902

Kensley, B & Schotte, M, 2002, New species and records of Asellota from the Indian Ocean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Isopoda), Journal of Natural History 36, pp. 1421-1461 : 1423-1424

Genus Carpias Richardson, 1902

Carpias Richardson, 1902: 294 ; Pires, 1980: 96; Wilson and Wägele, 1994: 695.

Bagatus Nobili, 1906: 268; Pires, 1980: 96.

Diagnosis. Eyes dorsolateral. Cephalon lacking rostrum. Maxillipedal endite longer than wide; palp articles 1–3 expanded. Pereopod 1 sexually dimorphic, often enlarged and expanded in male, carpochelate, dactylus reduced. Pereopods 2– 7, dactyli having three claws. Coxae visible on pereonites 2–7 in dorsal view. Pleon consisting of short free anterior pleonite lacking free lateral margins, plus broad pleotelson. Uropods with elongate protopod and rami.

Remarks. The species of the genus Carpias are notoriously diYcult to identify, not least because of the variation with age or moult-stage of the male pereopod 1, this latter being the most useful single feature to distinguish species. The distribution of the species is further complicated by the fact that these tiny animals have been shown to raft on oating algae (Morris and Mogelberg, 1973), and are also probably capable of clinging to fouling organisms on oating objects including ships. Eight species, including the three reported here, have been recorded from the Indian Ocean. Several have very wide distributions in more than one ocean. Unfortunately, until a range of material from each locality is examined, identi cations will remain uncertain, and identi cation keys will have little meaning.