Ligia Fabricius, 1798

Khalaji-Pirbalouty, Valiallah, , Carlos A. Santamaria, , Jayanthi, Puniamoorthy, O, Mendoza, & Jose Christopher E., 2025, Description of a new species of Ligia Fabricius, 1798 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Ligiidae) from Samoa based on morphological and molecular data, with notes on L. vitiensis Dana, 1853, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 73, pp. 276-292 : 281

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.26107/RBZ-2025-0020

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5E45CD58-888F-4E36-BC5A-53AA1A885164

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/FF4D87EA-F17C-FFC7-FE99-FB80FBADFDD6

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Ligia Fabricius, 1798
status

 

Genus Ligia Fabricius, 1798 View in CoL

Diagnosis. The most recent diagnosis to the genus is that of Ariyama & Hiki (2024).

Remarks. Ariyama & Hiki (2024) provided an updated taxonomic diagnosis for this genus. The following statements are included here to augment their diagnosis. The character “Cephalon with large eyes, the distance between the eyes can be shorter, longer, or equal to the length of the eyes.” can be useful in species identification. For example, in Ligia hawaiensis Dana, 1853 , the distance between the eyes is less than their length, in L. yemenica it is equal, and in L. pallasii Brandt, 1833 , this distance is greater than their length ( Khalaji-Pirbalouty & Wägele, 2010).

According to Ariyama & Hiki (2024), the second [sic] article of antennula, has 3 or 4 short aesthetascs on mediodistal [sic] margin. This mistake likely stems from a visual error, with the authors mistakenly identifying the location of the aesthetascs as being on the mediodistal margin of the second article rather than the proximal part of the distal article. However, contrary to the text of the article, the figures by Ariyama & Hiki (2024: figs. 4A1, 9A1) show that these appendages are on the distal article. Contrary to Ariyama & Hiki (2024) ’s assertion, these aesthetascs are located on the proximal part of the third article, a fact that has been correctly noted in prior research by Taiti & Ferrara (2004), and Khalaji-Pirbalouty & Wägele (2010). This observation is not limited to the genus in question but is consistent with other genera within the order Oniscidea , such as Olibrinus Budde-Lund, 1912 , Panchaia Taiti & Ferrara, 2004 , and Tamarida Taiti & Ferrara, 2004 , where these aesthetascs are also found on the third article ( Taiti & Ferrara, 2004). Finally, some characters that have not been mentioned in previous diagnoses, including the elongated antenna that is extending beyond pereon segments, the caudal surfaces of pereopods 6 and 7 with several rows of regular scales on ischium, merus, carpus and propodus (a path for water transport on these legs), and a tuft of very long thin setae on the tergal margin of dactylus, are included in this new species description.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Malacostraca

Order

Isopoda

Family

Ligiidae

Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF