''Ceratoserolis'' is a genus of
isopod
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...
s in the family
Serolidae
Serolidae is a family of isopod crustaceans, containing the following genera :
*'' Acanthoserolis'' Brandt, 1988
*'' Acutiserolis'' Brandt, 1988
*'' Atlantoserolis'' Wägele, 1994
*'' Basserolis'' Poore, 1985
*'' Brazilserolis'' Wägele, 1994
*' ...
from the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
around Antarctica and some
Sub-Antarctic Islands. They prefer to live on soft bottoms and range of least between in depth. They are superficially similar to the unrelated, extinct
trilobite
Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...
s (hence the specific name ''trilobitoides'' for the first described species) and reach up to about in length.
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.
[
Because ''Ceratoserolis'' are widespread, locally abundant and relatively large for isopods, they have often been studied and used as ]model organism
A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...
for the Antarctic region.[ 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.]
Species
There are four currently recognized species:
External links
Sphaeromatidea
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