Scalpelloniscus Grygier, 1981

Hosie, Andrew M., 2008, Four new species and a new record of Cryptoniscoidea (Crustacea: Isopoda: Hemioniscidae and Crinoniscidae) parasitising stalked barnacles from New Zealand, Zootaxa 1795, pp. 1-28 : 14-15

Scalpelloniscus Grygier, 1981

Type species: Scalpelloniscus penicillatus Grygier, 1981 ; by original designation. Composition: Scalpelloniscus binoculis Menzies & George, 1972 , S. nieli sp. nov., S. penicillatus Grygier, 1981 , S. vomicus sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Eyes absent. Antennule article 1 with 8 bluntly rounded teeth and 1 acute posterior tooth. Pereopods 3–5 with dorsoventrally flattened propodus, quadrate distally with a short stout medial seta. Pereopods 6 and 7 semicylindrical, tapering distally. Coxal plates with or without teeth. Ventral abdominal lobe between first pair of pleopods, truncated with medial notch. Pleotelson with bell-curve shaped posterior lobe occupying more than half posterior margin. Uropod exopod 0.40–0.50 width of endopod.

Mature females as for family.

Remarks: This genus was regarded as incertae sedis by Grygier (1981b) who had anticipated a review of the genus by Jarl-Ove Strömberg, which never appeared. I would separate Scalpelloniscus from the hemioniscids were it not for the similar form of the mature females described below. Species of this genus can be distinguished from those of Hemioniscus by the absence of eyes and the number of teeth on the first antenna (9 in Scalpelloniscus versus 7 in Hemioniscus ) which are mostly bluntly rounded rather than acute.

The genus Gorgoniscus Grygier, 1981 a is currently considered incertae sedis. The genus is a parasite of barnacles (Acrothoracica), so a comparison with other cryptoniscoid barnacle parasites is needed. The sole species, Gorgoniscus incisodactylus Grygier, 1981 a, has a bluntly pointed cephalon, five acute teeth on antennule article 1 and the female undergoes complete metamorphosis.

The ostracod parasite Cyproniscus cypridinae ( Sars, 1899) was cited by Grygier (1981b) as being closely allied with Scalpelloniscus , with similarly shaped teeth (but 5 or 6 present) on the antennule and coxal plates. The females of this species under go a complete metamorphosis and shown by Sars (1899) as being attached by an umbilicus to the prosoma of the host, formed by the cephalon.

Scalpelloniscus previously contained only two species: S. penicillatus and S. binoculis , both parasites of scalpellid barnacles. S. binoculis is only known from the Peru – Chile Trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean ( Grygier 1981b). The following newly described species, found in the western Pacific, parasitise heteralepadids, lepadids as well as scalpellid barnacles.