6 - Sphaeromatidae::“Cute As Buttons”

FLABELLIFERA • TRIDENTELLIDAE 235
RECORDS Virginia to Florida; Belize; Cuba; Venezuela to Brazil; Gulf of
Mexico.
Nigeria, east coast of southern Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indo­
nesia, Philippines, Australia.
REMARKS There is no agreement on whether this species is synonymous
with S. destructor Richardson, 1897. This latter (if distinct) bores into wood
pilings in estuarine waters, while S. terebrans is found in the prop roots of the
red mangrove tree, Rhizophora mangle. In this habitat, the isopods are inter­
preted either as being destructive agents (e.g., Rehm and Humm, 1973) or as
promoting increased root growth (Simberloff et al., 1978). It is unlikely that
the bored wood itself is a source of food for the isopods; rather, as with the
genus Limnoria, the food is probably detritus or fungi and bacteria growing on
the wood fragments in the burrows or on the setae of the appendages.
Sphaeroma walkeri Stebbing, 1905
Figure 101E
DIAGNOSIS 6 9.5 mm, 9 10.0 mm. Pereonites 3—7 with transverse row of
large rounded tubercles. Last pleonite with row of prominent tubercles and
smaller scattered tubercles laterally. Pleotelson anteriorly inflated, posteri­
orly concave and cuplike, with four irregular longitudinal rows of large tu­
bercles plus many small scattered tubercles. Posterior margin rounded, en­
tire to irregularly crenulate. Uropodal endopod with several rounded
tubercles on dorsal surface; exopod with row of smaller tubercles on ventral
surface.
RECORDS Probably pan-tropical. Florida to Puerto Rico, intertidal.
Family Tridentellidae Bruce, 1984
DIAGNOSIS Eyes well developed. Pereonites 2—7 with distinct coxae. Pleon
consisting of five free pleonites plus pleotelson. Mandible with acute incisor;
lacinia mobilis absent; molar present; palp of three articles. Maxilla 1, outer
ramus styliform with three to five strong terminal spines, and several short
recurved subapical spines. Maxilla 2 uniramous, biarticulate, bearing small
sometimes tridentate spines or scales distally. Maxillipedal palp of five arti­
cles; endite slender, lamellar, usually lacking coupling hooks.