The Cryptoniscidae are a family of isopodcrustaceans in the suborder Cymothoida. The original description was made by Kossmann in 1880.[1] "Liriopsidae" is a junior synonym.[2] Members of this family are hyperparasites of rhizocephalid barnacles which are themselves parasites of decapod crustaceans. The morphology of the adult females gives little clue as to their true identity, but the free-living larvae show their true taxonomic affiliations.[3]
Alpheus sp. from Fiji with Faba sp. (Cryptoniscidae) attached to ventral surface
^Kossmann, R. (1880) Malacostraca (2. Theil, Anomura, Macrura, Schizopoda, Stomatopoda, Isopoda, Laemodipoda, Amphipoda). Zoologische Ergebnisse einer im Auftrage der Koniglich Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin ausgefuhrten Reise in die Kuestengebiete des Rothen Meeres, zweite Halfte, erste Lieferung: 67-140
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