| Cirolana cranchii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Isopoda |
| Family: | Cirolanidae |
| Genus: | Cirolana |
| Species: | C. cranchii |
| Binomial name | |
| Cirolana cranchii | |
| Synonyms | |
Nelocira swainsonii Contents | |
Cirolana cranchii is a species of isopod crustacean.
Cirolana cranchii was described by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in 1818; he named the genus anagrammatically after an unknown woman called Caroline/Carolina, and the species after his friend and collector John Cranch. [3] [4]
Cirolana cranchii is the type species of the genus Cirolana, which in turn is the type genus for the family Cirolanidae. [2] The type locality is Cornwall, Great Britain. [1] [2]
The species is found around the British Isles and the northwestern coasts of Portugal, Spain and France, with the greatest abundance around the western coasts of Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany. [5] The species has also been recorded from the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and the coasts of Australia. [6] Bruce and Ellis consider only the eastern North Atlantic and Mediterranean records reliable. [2] Also reported from South Africa near Cape Town. [7]
The adult male is between 9.0 and 19.1 mm long and about 3 times as long as it is wide. The head (cephalon) lacks a forward-pointing spine (rostral process). The body consists of 11 visible segments each covered in a smooth dorsal scale behind the head, with a triangular tail (pleotelson). [2] There are six joints to the abdomen. The legs are used for walking and have small claws. [4] Tail paddles (uropods) extend beyond the point of the tail. The female has a wider pleotelson and non-angled uropods, and lacks the dense bristles (setae) on these parts. Females are between 9.6 and 19.2 mm long. Young males resemble females. [2]