Giniphargidae, Lowry & Myers, 2012

Lowry, J. K. & Myers, A. A., 2012, New, mainly southern hemisphere, freshwater families of Amphipoda (Crustacea), together with a description of the first freshwater calliopiid, Lutriwita bradburyi gen. nov. et sp. nov., Zootaxa 3499, pp. 27-45 : 36

Giniphargidae fam. nov.

Type genus. Giniphargus Karaman & Barnard, 1979 .

Included genera. Giniphargus Karaman & Barnard, 1979 .

Diagnostic description. Calceoli absent. Antenna 1 longer than antenna 2; peduncular article 1 subequal to article 2, or longer than article 2; accessory flagellum short. Antenna 2 peduncular article 1 bulbous. Mandible incisor dentate. Labium without inner plates. Maxilla 1 inner plate strongly setose along medial margin; palps alike. Maxilla 2 inner plate with oblique setal row. Maxilliped inner plate well developed; outer plate small. Body subcylindrical. Coxal gills present on coxae 2 to 6, unstalked. Sternal gills present, simple. Gnathopods 1 and 2 not sexually dimorphic. Gnathopod 1 similar in size and form to gnathopod 2; propodus without robust setae along palmar margin. Pereopod 4 without posteroventral lobe. Pereopods 5–7: progressively longer; dactyli with a few subterminal setae. Pereopod 5 coxa with small anteroventral lobe; basis slightly expanded. Urosomites 1 to 3 free, without robust dorsal setae. Urosomite 1 with distoventral robust seta. Urosomite 2 with paired dorsal setae. Uropod 1 peduncle without basofacial robust seta, without ventromedial spine. Uropod 3 uniramous; rami not sexually dimorphic; without fringing plumose setae; inner ramus absent; outer ramus 2-articulate, outer ramus article 2 very long. Telson moderately cleft, with robust setae.

Remarks. Giniphargids and uronyctids are both monotypic ‘crangonyctoid’ families with uniramous third uropods living in temperate Australian groundwaters. However, they have a number of significant morphological differences from each other. Coxal gills occur on pereopods 2 to 6 in giniphargids (2 to 7 in uronyctids); gnathopods 1 and 2 are similar in size and shape and not sexually dimorphic in giniphargids (gnathopod 1 is smaller than gnathopod 2 and sexually dimorphic in uronyctids); giniphargids do not have robust setae along the palmar margin of gnathopod 1 (rows of simple robust setae in uronyctids); pereopods 5 to 7 are progressively longer in giniphargids (pereopod 5 shorter that pereopod 6 and 7 which are similar in length in uronyctids); a few subterminal setae on the dactyli of pereopods 5 to 7 in giniphargids (setae along the margins in uronyctids).

Distribution. Temperate Australia.