First fossils of the isopod genus Aega Leach, 1815

Abstract

Two abdominal molts representing a small cymothoid isopod are described from the marine late Miocene Gram Formation of southern Denmark. Abdominal molts are generally regarded as being difficult or even impossible to assign to genus or family due to overlap of morphological characters. A preliminary study supported by statistical and multivariate analysis of the genera most closely resembling the specimens reveals that although some overlap in characters do occur, the genera can to a large extent be defined by a diagnostic set of features. The Danish Miocene taxon described herein is assigned to Aega Leach, 1815 as the only known fossil of this important cosmopolitan genus.