PORT PHILLIP BAY


Sand Skater 

Serolina acaste Poore, 1987

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Head with medial triangular projection and obscure blunt rounded lobes laterally on posterior margin; eye prominent, reniform, with slight medioposterior eave. Pereonites 1-5 and pleonites 1-3 with narrow elongate mid-dorsal crests ending acutely posteriorly, longest and most obvious on pleonite 1. No lateral sculpture on pereon and pleon. Pleotelson lateral margins slightly concave posteriorly, apex subacute; with of long sharp mid-dorsal crest, highest anteriorly.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (1987) Serolina, a new genus for Serolis minuta Beddard (Crustacea: Isopoda: Serolidae) with descriptions of eight new species from Australia. Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, 48, 141-189.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Peracarida
Order:
Isopoda
Suborder:
Sphaeromatidea
Superfamily:
Seroloidea
Family:
Serolidae
Genus:
Serolina
Species:
acaste

General Description

Body very flat and round, head inset into the first body segment with a pair of kidney shaped eyes on top. Body with strong even mid-dorsal crests, without lateral sculpture. The first legs are a pair of solid claws. Up to 6 mm long.

Biology

Serolina acaste is a species of sand skater frequently found on sandy sediments in south-eastern Australia. Sand skaters use their discoid shape and camouflage to swim and walk about invisibly on the surface of sand in marine environments. They feed on the organic matter found in the sand.

Habitat

Subtidal sand and mud, 16-101 m depth.

Reefs

Distribution guide

Southern temperate oceans, including south-eastern Australia.

Species Group

Microcrustaceans › Isopods

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)
Deep ( > 30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

6 mm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 959

Conservation Status

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

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Sand Skater, Serolina acaste, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 25 Feb 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/5342

Text: creative commons cc by licence