Ceratoserolis

Ceratoserolis is a genus of isopods in the family Serolidae from the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and some Sub-Antarctic Islands. They prefer to live on soft bottoms and range of least between 24 and 950 m (80–3,120 ft) in depth. They are superficially similar to the unrelated, extinct trilobites (hence the specific name trilobitoides for the first described species) and reach up to about 8 cm (3.1 in) in length.^[2][3] They were once considered to be part of the genus Serolis and for a long time only Ceratoserolis trilobitoides was recognized. The validity of the other species has been disputed, but there are some morphological and genetic differences between them and C. trilobitoides, and there are indications that additional, currently unrecognized species of Ceratoserolis exist.^[2][3][4]

Ceratoserolis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Isopoda
Family:	Serolidae
Genus:	Ceratoserolis Cals, 1977[1]

Because Ceratoserolis are widespread, locally abundant and relatively large for isopods, they have often been studied and used as model organism for the Antarctic region.^[3] They are slow-maturing, only breed once in their life, and the eggs and young are brooded for an extended period—almost two years—in the female's marsupium. As typical of Antarctic isopods, there is no pelagic larval stage.^[5][6]

Species

There are four currently recognized species:^[7]

• Ceratoserolis meridionalis (Vanhoeffen, 1914)
• Ceratoserolis pasternaki (Kussakin, 1967)
• Ceratoserolis serratus (Brandt, 1988)
• Ceratoserolis trilobitoides (Eights, 1833)

References

1. "Ceratoserolis Cals, 1977". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
2. Wägele, J.-W. (1986). "Polymorphism and distribution of Ceratoserolis trilobitoides (Eights, 1833) (Crustacea, Isopoda) in the Weddell Sea and synonymy with C. cornuta (Studer, 1879)". Polar Biol. 6 (3): 127–137. doi:10.1007/BF00274875. S2CID 36870848.
3. Held, C. (2003). "Molecular evidence for cryptic speciation within the widespread Antarctic crustacean Ceratoserolis trilobitoides (Crustacea, Isopoda)". Antarctic Biology in a Global Context. ISBN 90-5782-079-X.
4. Julian Gutt; Graham Hosie & Michael Stoddart (2010). "Marine Life in the Antarctic". In Alasdair McIntyre (ed.). Life in the World's Oceans: Diversity, Distribution, and Abundance. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 203–220. doi:10.1002/9781444325508.ch11. ISBN 978-1-4051-9297-2.
5. Wägele, J.-W. (1987). "On the reproductive biology of Ceratoserolis trilobitoides (crustacea: isopoda): Latitudinal variation of fecundity and embryonic development". Polar Biol. 7: 11–24. doi:10.1007/BF00286819. S2CID 23794037.
6. Heilmayer, O.; S. Thatje; C. McClelland; K. Conlna; T. Brey (2008). "Changes in biomass and elemental composition during early ontogeny of the Antarctic isopod crustacean Ceratoserolis trilobitoides" (PDF). Polar Biol. 31 (11): 1325–1331. doi:10.1007/s00300-008-0470-8. S2CID 6289689.
7. Marilyn Schotte (2010). M. Schotte; C. B. Boyko; N. L. Bruce; G. C. B. Poore; S. Taiti; G. D. F. Wilson (eds.). "Ceratoserolis Cals, 1977". World Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved February 21, 2011.