Gnathia abyssorum(g.o. sars, 1872) (Crustacea, Isopoda) associated with sponges

Gnathia abyssorum is for the first time recorded from the Faroe Islands area. Both larvae and adults were found during an investigation of the associated fauna of sponges. Three larval stages could be discerned, and a proposal to the life history of the species is made. The gnathiids were found in sponges of two different morphological categories (Stryphnus ponderosus, Stelletta normani; Tragosia infundibuliformis, Axinella arctica, Phakellia robusta). No significant difference was found, however, between the number of gnathiids per sponge specimen of the two categories. Sponges seem to be a frequently used resting place of both larvae and adults of G. abyssorum, even though the species is not an obligatory sponge associate.