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The mouthparts of the members of the Jaera albifrons group of species (Crustacea: Isopoda)

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Abstract

The mouthparts of Jaera albifrons Leach, Jaera ischiosetosa Forsman, Jaera praehirsuta Forsman and Jaera forsmani Bocquet were examined with the light microscope and the Stereoscan electron microscope, and were found to be identical in all species. The structure of the mouthparts indicate that all four species feed by scouring and abrading algal or bacterial films from rocks or Fucus. Food, therefore, does not seem to be an isolating factor involved in the microdistribution of the four species on a shore.

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Communicated by J. H. S. Blaxter, Oban

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Jones, M.B. The mouthparts of the members of the Jaera albifrons group of species (Crustacea: Isopoda). Marine Biology 14, 264–270 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348290

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