Exceptionally preserved cryptoniscium larvae - morphological details of rare isopod crustaceans from French Cretaceous Vendean amber

Epicaridea is an ingroup of Isopoda that comprises only parasitic crustaceans. Within parasitic isopods, epicarideans represent a special case: throughout their ontogeny they switch from a small intermediate host (copepod) to a final host (various larger crustaceans), and develop through distinct larval phases (epicaridium, microniscium and cryptoniscium). Young males of some species retain a larval morphology. Recent findings of fossil...