General Description

Body setose, especially anteriorly; mandibles with mandibular setae, blade slightly asssymetrical, produced; posterior cephalon with small tubercle. Cephalon roughly quadrilateral with 3 furrows, 2 mesiolateral and 1 medially; pylopod 2-articled. Mandibles lacking internal lobe; pereon width not steadily increasing posteriorly; pereonite 4 with anterior spine; pereonite 6 without lobuii or at most with simple, rounded lobuii only. Pleotelson subtriangular. Up to 5 mm long.

Biology

Caecognathia huberia belongs to a family of isopods in which the male burrows in sediment and has a huge head with large jaws, the female has a smaller head and carries eggs. The male maintains a harem of females in a communal burrow in sandy rubble or algae. They are commonly known as sea mites as the juvenile stage lives attached to the skin of a fish where it feeds on blood and mucus which it obtains with sharp little jaws.

Habitat

Intertidal to 800 m depth.

Reefs

Distribution guide

Southern Australia.

Species Group

Microcrustaceans › Isopods

Depth

Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

5 mm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Recorded in Australia

Species Code

MoV 254

Conservation Status

• DSE Advisory List : Not listed
• EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
• IUCN Red List : Not listed