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. 2015 May 20;10(5):e0115021.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115021. eCollection 2015.

Amphibious shelter-builder Oniscidea species from the New World with description of a new subfamily, a new genus and a new species from Brazilian cave (Isopoda, Synocheta, Styloniscidae)

Leila A Souza  1 , Rodrigo L Ferreira  2 , André R Senna  3
Affiliations

Amphibious shelter-builder Oniscidea species from the New World with description of a new subfamily, a new genus and a new species from Brazilian cave (Isopoda, Synocheta, Styloniscidae)

Leila A Souza et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The new subfamily Iuiuniscinae, Styloniscidae, is erected for the new genus Iuiuniscus and the new species I. iuiuensis, which is described from cave of the State of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. A special ecological character is shown here for the first time for a New World Oniscidea: the construction of mud shelters. An introduction addressing the systematics of Synocheta with emphasis on Styloniscidae Vandel, 1952 is provided, as well as general comments about the dependence of water in some Oniscidea and ecological traits of amphibious Synocheta. The problems referring to nomenclature, taxonomy and the interrelationships in Styloniscidae are discussed.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Iuiuniscus iuiuensis gen. et sp. nov. (Holotype, UFBA 1603).
(A) First antenna, (B) Second antenna, (C) Left mandible, (D) Right mandible, (E) First maxilla, (F) Second maxilla, (G) Maxilliped. Scale bars: 0.1 mm for A; 1.0 mm for B; 0.2 mm for the remainder.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Iuiuniscus iuiuensis gen. et sp. nov. (Holotype, UFBA 1603).
(A) Pereopod 1, (C) Pereopod 2, (E) Pereopod 3, (F) Pereopod 7. (Paratype, female, UFBA 1604). (B) Pereopod 1, (D) Pereopod 2. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Iuiuniscus iuiuensis gen. et sp. nov. (Holotype, UFBA 1603).
(A) Pleopod 1, (C) Pleopod 2. (Paratype, female, UFBA 1604). (B) Pleopod 1, (D) Pleopod 2. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Iuiuniscus iuiuensis gen. et sp. nov.
(A) Iuiu municipality (Bahia state, Brazil), (B) Surroundings of Lapa do Baixão cave, (C) Inside the cave, showing roots, (D) Puddles where specimens were collected, (E) Habitus.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Iuiuniscus iuiuensis gen. et sp. nov. cohabiting puddle with another species.
Red point: sympatric species.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Semispherical and irregular shelters made of clay, built by specimens of I. iuiuensis gen. et sp. nov., and used by them as molting chambers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Schmalfuss H (2005) Utopioniscus kuehni n. gen., n. sp. (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Synocheta) from submarine caves in Sardinia. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie A (Biologie), 677: 1–21.
    1. Schmalfuss H (1989) Phylogenetics in Oniscidea.—Monitore zoologico italiano, Nuova Serie, Monografia 4: 3–27.
    1. Vandel A (1946) Especes francaises, nouvelles ou peu connues de Trichoniscidae (isopodes terrestres) (deuxieme partie). Bulletin de la Societe zoologique de France 71: 53–72.
    1. Vandel A (1952) La repartition du complexe trichoniscoide (isopodes terrestres) et les theories geologiques. Comptes rendus hebdomadaire des Seances de l'Academie des Sciences (Paris) 235: 997–999.

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