Paraserolis polita (Pfeffer, 1887)

Species details

Ecology of Antarctic serolid isopods, Luxmoore 1981. Antarctic Isopoda Valvifera, J.W. Wagele 1991

Species distribution

Often found in shallow water, between 3 and 20m. Paraserolis polita lives fully buried in soft sediments such as mud and sand, from Sub-Antarctica to the Antarctic Peninsula and Continent.

Paraserolis polita is a predator and feeds on a variety of small invertebrates, particularly amphipods and polychaete worms. It lives for up to 6 years and reaches maturity after about 2, breeding every two years. Eggs are laid in autumn and brooded in a marsupium for a year and a half, and then the young are released in spring. This long incubation period is probably timed to coincide the release of juveniles with the most productive part of the Antarctic season.