Gnathia Leach, 1814, restricted syn.

Hadfield, Kerry A., Schizas, Nikolaos V., Chatterjee, Tapas & Smit, Nico J., 2019, Gnathia bermudensis (Crustacea, Isopoda, Gnathiidae), a new species from the mesophotic reefs of Bermuda, with a key to Gnathia from the Greater Caribbean biogeographic region, ZooKeys 891, pp. 1-16 : 1

Genus Gnathia Leach, 1814, restricted syn.

Gnathia Leach, 1814: 386-402; Monod 1926: 326-329 (part); Cohen and Poore 1994: 343-346.

Anceus Risso, 1816: 8.

Praniza Latreille, 1817: 54.

Zuphea Risso, 1826: 104.

Gnathia ( Gnathia) s.s.: Monod 1926: 329 (part).

Gnathia (Perignathia) : Monod 1926: 554-555 (not Perignathia Monod, 1922).

Type species.

Gnathia termitoides Leach, 1814, by monotypy (see Cohen and Poore 1994).

Diagnosis.

Frontal margin of cephalosome generally straight (not deeply excavated), with frontal processes. Mandibles not elongate, usually with mandibular incisor and dentate mandibular blade. Paraocular ornamentation and/or a dorsal sulcus may be present on cephalosome. Pereonite 1 possibly immersed in cephalosome. Pylopod broad and distinct, with two or three articles, operculate; article 1 enlarged, generally with dense external margin of plumose setae; article 3 reduced or absent.

Remarks.

Gnathia can be identified by the presence of frontal processes, a straight frontal border, a broad 2 or 3 articled pylopod, and non-extended mandibles with a dentate blade.

It is the most speciose genus in the family Gnathiidae (currently with 126 valid species). Gnathia is a cosmopolitan genus, commonly found in coral-reef habitats, and its parasitic larvae have been reported from both teleost and elasmobranch hosts ( Smit and Davies 2004). The most recent revision of this genus was by Cohen and Poore (1994).