Cryosignum, Just, Jean & Wilson, George D. F., 2007

Just, Jean & Wilson, George D. F., 2007, Revision of Austrosignum Hodgson and Munnogonium George & Strömberg (Paramunnidae) with descriptions of eight new genera and two new species, (Crustacea: Isopoda: Asellota), Zootaxa 1515, pp. 1-29 : 14

Cryosignum gen. nov.

Type species. Paramunna lunata Hale, 1937 . — Here designated.

Species included. Cryosignum incisum ( Richardson, 1908) , comb. nov., C. lunatum ( Hale, 1937) , comb. nov.

Diagnosis. Body ovate (posteriorly tapering in terminal males). Head front margin evenly convex, not projecting. Terminal males with strongly enlarged and forward pointing lateral parts of pereonite 1. Pereonites dorsally smooth or with low transverse ridges. Pleotelson lateral margins smooth. Eyestalk length at least twice greatest width. Antennula article 1 at most as long as eyestalk. Mandible palp present. Pereopod I carpus oval, with 2 straight robust setae on posterior margin; propodus with 2 robust setae on posterior margin. Pereopod II carpus and propodus posterior margin with a few short robust setae. Uropod endopod straight, apex rounded truncate.

Etymology. The genus name incorporates the Greek ρύος (krios or kryos) meaning cold, alluding to the Antarctic-subantarctic distribution of its component species.

Remarks. Cryosignum differs from Munnogonium and Austrosignum as discussed under Austrosignum (above).

The following specimens reported by various authors as Austrosignum glaciale or A. grande may belong in Cryosignum . Pereopod I of the male of A. glaciale, Monod (1931, dorsal habitus and pereopod I illustrated; specimens not seen by us) has an oval carpus with two robust setae and two robust setae on the propodus. In A. glaciale, Nordenstam (1933; specimens seen by us) the presence of a mandible palp and normal uropods places the specimens in Cryosignum , this is an undescribed species. A. grande, Menzies (1962; specimen seen by us) has an oval pereopod I carpus, a mandible palp and normal uropods. This places the specimen in Cryosignum ; it is an undescribed species.

Austrosignum latifrons Menzies, 1962 , which we have examined, may belong in Cryosignum , but only because it lacks the definitive features of Austrosignum and has a mandibular palp. Our analysis places this species near but not definitively part of the Cryosignum clade. As a result, we have assigned it to an indefinite generic position (incertae sedis).