Four new species of Actaeciidae (Isopoda : Oniscidea) from Australia, with a review of the family

Abstract

Four new species of Actaecia Dana are described from Australia; three of these (A. bipleura, A. cyphotelson and A. nasuta) are from beaches in south-eastem Australia and one (A. forrnida) is from the mid-eastern coast of Queensland. Specimens from Tasmania identified previously as Actaecia pallida Nicholls & Barnes belong to A. bipleura. The same probably applies to others from New South Wales and Lord Howe Island. The distributions of the six Australian species are noted.

A review of the monogeneric family Actaeciidae includes a new diagnosis of Actaecia and a key to species. The distributions of the two New Zealand species are listed.