Coxicerberus abbotti abbotti (Lang, 1961)

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Suggested Common Name: California Beach-Cerberus
Etymology: See species account. Common name refers to the geographic range of this subspecies
Taxonomic History: Microcerberus abbotti Lang, 1961; Microcerberus abbotti formes continentales Coineau & Deboutteville, 1968; Coxicerberus abbotti abbotti comb. nov. [2023]
Size Range: to 1.2mm
Description: (modified from Coineau & Deboutteville, 1968) Antenna 1 peduncle segment 1 distinctively longer than segment 2, segment 2 plumose setae spatulate. Mandible left lacinia 3-toothed; left spine row with 2(-3) spines. Pereonites 2-4 lateral lobe medial tooth acute. Pereopods 5-7 ischium with 1 dorsal setae. ♂ pleopod 2 cannula distinctively coiled, tips approaching or even crossing over, sometimes completely coiled laterally, subapical teeth closer to tip. Pleopod 3 endite with 4 large serrate medial teeth, apical tooth usually without serrations.
Geographic Range: Common to abundant but extremely underreported in coarse-sand beaches from at least Newport Beach to Trinidad in California. Occurs in the mid-intertidal zone in 30-40cm of sand.
Notes: This subspecies has never been formally named, so a comb. nov. is proposed here to officially give this taxon a name.

Sources

Coineau, N., & Deboutteville, C. D. (1968). Étude des Microcerberides (Crustacea, Isopoda) de la côte pacifique des Etats-Unis. 1re partie, systématique. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat., (2), 39(5):955-964.

Hooge, M. D. (1999). Abundance and horizontal distribution of Meiofauna on a Northern California beach. Pacific Science, 53(3):305-315.

Lang, K. (1961). Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Microcerberus Karaman (Crustacea, Isopoda) with a description of a new species from the central Californian coast. Arkiv fӧr Zoologi, 13:493-510.

Published: Feb 15, 2023