182 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETENT 271 



Tropichelura J. L. Barnard 



Tropichelura J. L. Barnard, 1959c. 



Type-species: Chelura insidae Caiman, 1910 (original designation). 



Siipra-antennal line present; gnathopod 1 large; uropod 2 with 

 two rami; uropod 3 lacking inner ramus. Species: 1, circumtropical, 

 littoral, bores wood. 



Colomastigidae 



Figure 75 



Diagnosis. — Accessory flagellum absent; body subcylindrical, 

 urosomites 2 and 3 coalesced; coxae very short but overlapping; 

 mandibular palp absent, primary incisor cut into a series of long 

 spine-like teeth; molar problematical, large but nontriturative in 

 some species, absent or unknown in others; inner plates of maxillipeds 

 very small, fully or partially coalesced, unarmed or acuminate; 

 uropod 3 hiramous; telson entire. Monogeneric. See Eophliantidae, 

 Phliantidae, Prophliantidae. 



Description. — Accessory flagellum absent; body subcylindrical; 

 coxae short but overlapping; epistome projecting acutely in front; 

 upper lip bilobed; mandible lacking palp, its body cut into several 

 long spine-teeth, molar large and unridged, small or ''absent"; lower 

 lip poorly known; maxillae stunted, maxilla 1 with 1-articulate palp 

 larger than outer plate; lobes of maxilla 2 partially coalesced; inner 

 plates of maxilliped very small, fused, or split but forming a sub- 

 conical piece, outer lobes of medium size but appearing large because 

 the articles they are attached to are elongate; gnathopod 1 simple, 

 usually armed apically with spines or setae forming a brush, some 

 males lacking these setae; gnathopod 2 in male enlarged, subchelate, 

 in female small and subchelate; uropod 3 biramous, occasionally 

 outer ramus considerably reduced in size; telson short to medium in 

 length, entire, often apically ornamented. 



Relationship. — The Eophliantidae also have cylindrical bodies 

 but differ from colomastigids by the well-developed inner lobes of the 

 maxillipeds and the cleft telson; the mandible is not cut into a series 

 of long projecting teeth and the palp of maxilla 1 is degraded. 



Phliantidae and Prophliantidae have compressed, or depressed, not 

 cylindrical bodies. The latter have cleft telsons. Probably all phliantids 

 have a reduced inner ramus of uropod 3 and prophliantids have all 

 urosomal segments coalesced. 



