Abstract Five anomuran and one brachyuran species collected from continental shelf and slope off southern Brazil have their geographic ranges considerably extended southward: Neolithodes agassizii (Smith), Paguristes spectabilis McLaughlin and Provenzano, Pagurus heblingi Nucci and Melo, Phimochirus occlusus (Henderson), Mixtopagurus paradoxus A. Milne-Edwards, and the brachyuran Euchirograpsus antillensis Türkay. Pagurus heblingi was previously known only from its type locality (off Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro) and from off Espírito Santo. Paguristes spectabilis was known only from the holotype (off Trinidad, Caribbean Sea) and two additional females from off Rio de Janeiro. One female was found of the brachyuran Robertsella meridionalis Tavares and Gouvêa, a species previously known only from two males. Additionally, the occurrence of the hermit crabs Dardanus venosus (H. Milne Edwards) and Oncopagurus gracilis (Henderson), and the brachyuran Hexapanopeus paulensis Rathbun are confirmed for Santa Catarina. The record of the brachyuran Neopilumnoplax americana (Rathbun) from Santa Catarina (27°S) probably actually refers to Neopilumnoplax lipkeholthuisi Tavares and Melo, a species described from Rio Grande do Sul (33°S) and Mar del Plata (37°S).

Abstract A new epigean asellid isopod, Caecidotea contrerasbalderasi sp. nov. is described from Nayarit, northwestern Mexico. This new species has morphological characters belonging to two different types of environments, both depigmentation and anophthalmia, indicators of organisms adapted to live in constant darkness as cavernicolous species. Despite showing characteristics of hypogean species, the new taxon does not show elongation of appendages, such as pereiopods, antennae or uropods. Its pleopod IV exopod lacks false sutures. This is a new pattern type “C”, and differs from that observed in types A and B. The description of this new species brings a new total of 101 species and three subspecies, for the genus Caecidotea in North America all morphologically poorly differentiated and with a restricted distribution.

Abstract The poorly known pilumnid, Vellumnus penicillatus (Gordon, 1930), is redescribed by examining the Hong Kong types. A new species, Vellumnus tki n. sp., is described from Macclesfield Bank, South China Sea, and it is distinguished from its closest congener, Vellumnus minabensis (Sakai, 1969) from Japan, by the setal pattern on the carapace and pereiopods, carapace proportions, structure of the front and anterolateral teeth, armature on the chelipeds and relatively shorter ambulatory legs.

Abstract The study investigated the population parameters of the shrimp Xiphopenaeus spp. (commonly known as seabob shrimp) in Anchieta, south coast of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, focusing on reducing the sampling effort. Shrimp were collected between February 2013 and February 2015. Individuals were measured, analyzed for sex and stage of reproductive development. In total, 1,564 individuals were analyzed in Anchieta, 534 males (74 juveniles and 460 adults) and 663 females (88 juveniles and 575 adults), and 367 individuals were not identified to sex or maturity. Significant differences were observed in shrimp abundance, with higher catches at the shallowest sampling point and associated with the type of substrate (silt+clay), while in the rainy season (September to March) and dry season (April to August) there were no significant differences. Despite this, greater abundances were found in the rainy season. The sex ratio was 0.80♂: 1♀. Carapace length ranged from 5.7 to 28.9 mm, with larger sizes recorded for females, as well as a larger size at first maturation than males, 12.86 and 11.60 mm respectively. All stages of development of the seabob shrimp were observed at the sampling points and periods, which represents a pattern of continuous reproduction and recruitment of the species in the area. Considering the sample size used, which is comparatively smaller than other studies, all estimates confirm current knowledge about the biology of the species and provide robust data on the seabob shrimp off the Anchieta coast, which are necessary for management and conservation.

Abstract Two new species of Hyalella S.I. Smith, 1874 are described from state of Jalisco, Mexico. Hyalella marysolae sp. nov. can be identified by the presence of small projections or carinae on pleonites 1−2, with the first antenna being composed of 12 articles and the second antenna being composed of 15 articles. The first maxilla bearing 2−3 distal pappose setae, and the propodus in male first gnathopod is hammer-shaped. Conversely, in H. morronei sp. nov., dorsal projections or carinae are absent on pleonites 1−2, with the first antenna being composed of 10 articles and the second antenna of 14 articles. The first maxilla always bears two distal pappose setae, and the propodus in male first gnathopod is hatchet-shaped. Both species are distinguishable from other Hyalella species found in Mexico by the second antenna. In these two species, the second antenna is approximately half as long as the total body length, and the peduncle comprises 14 −15 articles; whereas, in other Mexican species, it is shorter and composed of maximum 12 articles. Here, we add two species to the four previously described in Mexico as it is necessary to increase the knowledge of the alpha taxonomy of this group of crustaceans and compensate for the biodiversity of the genus being underestimated.

Abstract The present work aims to describe the first troglobitic terrestrial isopod (Oniscidea) from Peru. Caecopactes chullachaqui sp. nov. is described from Cueva de Palestina, Department of San Martín. The new species constitutes the third troglobitic taxon known for the country and extends the knowledge of the distribution of the genus.

Abstract The status of the obscure Pagurus bouvieri (Faxon, 1895), a replacement name proposed for the preoccupied Eupagurus smithii A. Milne-Edwards and Bouvier, 1893, was evaluated. Based on types and numerous unreported museum materials, P. bouvieri is found to be synonymous with Pagurus politus (Smith, 1882) a commonly encountered but infrequently discussed northwestern Atlantic species. The taxonomy and geographic distribution of P. politus is updated with a complete synonymy, redescription, and illustrations. The taxonomy of the northeastern Pacific species Pagurus smithi (Benedict, 1892) is also updated, including a redescription with illustrations.

Abstract Alpheus christofferseni Anker, Hurt and Knowlton, 2007 was described based on four specimens from Atol das Rocas, northeastern Brazil, and one specimen from Bocas del Toro, the Caribbean coast of Panama. Here, we report the collection of two specimens from Pernambuco, Brazil (~ 8°41’S), thus increasing the knowledge on species distribution along the Brazilian coast by approximately five latitudinal degrees south of its type locality (Atol das Rocas, Rio Grande do Norte, ~ 3°51'S). We also report a substantial increase in the known bathymetric distribution from shallow intertidal to approximately 51 m. Notes on morphological variation are provided based on the new material, and the first sequence of the 16S ribosomal subunit gene for the Brazilian coast is provided and compared with congeners.

Abstract Two new species of Diploexochus are described. Diploexochus spinatus sp. nov. from Lapa do Honorato cave, located in the municipality of Iuiu, and Diploexochus obscurus sp. nov. from Água Escura I cave, located in the municipality of Carinhanha, both in the southwest of Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. Both species are likely to occur in caves due to anthropogenic impacts in the surrounding area (such as deforestation) and/or looking for the stable microclimatic conditions found in the subterranean realm. Additionally, D. echinatus is recorded in a cave in the municipality of Rurópolis, Pará State, northern Brazil. These represent the first records of the genus for subterranean environments.

Abstract A collection of various developmental stages of Aegidae is presented and described, with the first description and photographs of eggs and embryos of this group. Intra-specific variation among specimens and developmental stages is described, as well as inter-specific, ontogenetic variation between immature stages and their better-known adult stages. Developmental stage differentiation of these opportunistic feeders is compared to that of the closely related parasitic representatives of Cymothoidae. This study is the first to attempt to provide the life cycle of these animals, which include well-documented and described immature stages.

Abstract Morphological identification of planktic crustacean larvae is required in many scientific contexts, such as ecology or taxonomy. Due to a still low availability of genetic sequences for many ingroups of Eumalacostraca, this task is still more feasible by morphological methods. Our understanding of eumalacostracan larval morphology is challenged by phenotypic variability. We investigated four eumalacostracan ingroups: Galatheidae, Hippoidea, Raninidae and Stomatopoda. Representatives of all four groups develop through spine-bearing planktic larval stages. Incorporating dorsal and lateral shield outlines into three-dimensional shape analysis of the shields, we compare specimens from the wild with laboratory-reared specimens. Using graphical and statistical analysis methods, we find that at least the lateral morphology of the shields of Hippoidea and Raninidae seems to be too strongly dependent on phylogeny to show phenotypic variability with our current sample size, but Hippoidea do show phenotypic variability in their dorsal shield morphology. In Galatheidae and Stomatopoda, a clear difference in shield morphology can be found between wild-caught and laboratory-reared specimens. This difference likely represents phenotypic variability. The exact environmental signals causing this phenotypic variability are still unknown, but some candidates are discussed.

Abstract A new podocerid amphipod, Leipsuropus seisuiae sp. nov., from 338-340 m depth in the Kumano Sea, Japan, Northwestern Pacific, is described. This is the deepest record of any Leipsuropus species. Leipsuropus seisuiae sp. nov. is distinguished from four other congeneric species in having: i) pereonites 2-5 each with five narrow spiniform projections on tergal plate, ii) one dorsal tubercle on the telson, and iii) one small, proximal, denticulate projection on gnathopod-2 palmar margin. A key to males of the species of Leipsuropus is provided.

Abstract A body entirely covered with long and sharp-pointed spines makes Acanthoniscus spiniger Gosse, 1851, one of the rarest and most ornamented terrestrial isopods in the world. The original description of this species was based on a single specimen collected by the British naturalist Philip Henry Gosse in Jamaica in 1845 and deposited in the British Museum (currently The Natural History Museum, London). A second specimen, presumably of this species, was collected by the American entomologist Henry Guernsey Hubbard in 1877 and deposited in the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, which served as the basis for a further description by Richardson (1909). After Gosse and Hubbard specimens, no additional material appears to have reached any museum collection. Due to the scarce available information on this genus, it has been indistinctly placed in at least four different families through history, without a consensus on its definitive placement to date. Herein, we describe a new species of Acanthoniscus Gosse, 1851, based on a population discovered in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica, above 1,200 m elevation and more than 150 km eastward of A. spiniger’s type locality. We also emend the authorship and diagnoses of the genus Acanthoniscus and its type species. Finally, we discuss the possible relationships of Acanthoniscus at the family level, concluding that, despite some putative autapomorphies, it belongs to Armadillidae, as its present-day status.

Abstract The natural history and conservation status of the West Indian endemic freshwater crabs of the genus Epilobocera are poorly known. Several species have restricted distributions and apparently specific ecological requirements, which make them particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic threats. Epilobocera capolongoi is known to occur exclusively in mountain streams and rivers above 300 m elevation in the Guamuhaya Massif, central Cuba. In addition to the publication with the original description, there is only one paper exclusively on this species, which reported it as being preyed upon by a heron and recorded it from some additional localities in the vicinity of Topes de Collantes, provinces of Cienfuegos and Sancti Spíritus. Epilobocera capolongoi is herein reported from Pico San Juan Ecological Reserve and Lomas de Banao Ecological Reserve, which expands its geographic range to about 60 km and its elevation to 1,000 m. The species was found living sympatric with the congeneric Epilobocera cubensis poliorcetes in Lomas de Banao Ecological Reserve, but apparently there exists some habitat segregation between them. Some phenotypic characters important to distinguish both species are described, some basic data on their natural history are provided, and an assessment of the conservation status of E. capolongoi following current IUCN criteria is made.

Abstract The presence of a long-wavelength sensitive (LWS) opsin gene was demonstrated in the stygobitic crustacean Creaseria morleyi (Creaser, 1936) by PCR readings from genomic DNA. In order to find the expression of this gene in extraocular tissue, shrimps were collected and placed in a tank to expose them to light/dark conditions for a period of 72 hours, and immediately after, sacrificed and sampled for RNA in the eyes, cephalothorax, abdomen, and sixth abdominal segment plus uropods. The transcripts of the LWS opsin gene were found in the eyes and abdomen of individuals exposed to light. The expression of these opsins could be involved in extravisual functions such as synchronization of their biological processes with environmental cycles related to diurnal vertical migration.