New and interesting copepods (Crustacea, Copepoda) from brackish waters of Laing Island (Northern Papua New Guinea)

In the paper at hand, eight copepods are described from two small temporary brackish water pools at Laing Island (Papua New Guinea). Included are one cyclopoid: Neocyclops papuensis n. sp. and seven harpacticoids: Darcythompsonia inopinata Smirnov, Leptocaris mucronatus n. sp.; Schizopera brusinae Petkovski, Nitocra lacrustris pacifica Yeatman, Nitocra laingensis n. sp., Phyllopodopsyllus alatus n. sp. and Actinocletodes woutersi n. gen., n. sp

<i>Probosciphontodes</i> n. gen., a new genus of the family Ancorabolidae, with the description of two new species (Copepoda, Harpacticoida)

The new genus Probosciphontodes n. gen. is erected for two new ancorabolid species: P. stellata n. sp. and P. ptenopostica n. sp. The former was found in sediment samples from the Comoros, the latter in samples from the northern coast of Papua New Guinea

<i>Halicyclops caneki</i> n. sp. (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) from Celestun Lagoon (Yucatan, Mexico)

Halicyclops caneki n. sp. is described from Celestun Lagoon (northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula) and is compared with its congeners H. herbsti Rocha and Iliffe, and H. bowmani Rocha and Iliffe, known from the Bermuda cave system. H. magniceps previously reported from the peninsula is considered as a possible junior synonym of H. caneki. The new species was found among several other copepods living between the aufwuchs covering submerged mangrove pneumatophores

<i>Intercletodes interita</i> n. gen., n. sp. and <i>Orthopsyllus coralliophilus</i> n. sp., two new copepods from the northern coast of Papua New Guinea (Copepoda, Harpacticoida)

In the present paper two new harpacticoid copepods, including a new genus, are described. Both species: Intercletodes interita n. gen., n. sp. and Orthopsyllus coralliophilus n. sp. were found in the cavity formed and inhabited by a gastropod, Leptoconchus sp., living in a massive coral of the genus Favia

<i>Robertsonia glomerata</i> new species (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from a North Carolina estuarine salt marsh

A new diosaccid harpacticoid, Robertsonia glomerata new species, found in a Spartina alterniflora marsh in a North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, is described. Key characters are the highly modified outer furcal spines in the female and the short first endopodal segment of the first leg. The setal armament of the exopodites of the natatorial legs of the new species unifies it with the species group including R. propinqua, R. barnesi, R. knoxi and R. salsa. Based on a review of the entire literature, an updated listing of the P2-P4 armature is given and a new key to the species of the genus is compiled

A checklist of the marine Harpacticoida (Copepoda) of the Caribbean Sea

Recent surveys on the benthic harpacticoids in the northwestern sector of the Caribbean have called attention to the lack of a list of species of this diverse group in this large tropical basin. A first checklist of the Caribbean harpacticoid copepods is provided herein; it is based on records in the literature and on our own data. Records from the adjacent Bahamas zone were also included. This complete list includes 178 species; the species recorded in the Caribbean and the Bahamas belong to 33 families and 94 genera. Overall, the most species family was the Miraciidae (27 species),followed by the Laophontidae (21), Tisbidae (17), and Ameiridae (13). Up to 15 harpacticoid families were represented by one or two species only. Excluding the Bahamian records, the number of species recorded herein for the Caribbean Basin is 139. The distribution of the species richness within the Caribbean Basin is asymmetrical; the northwestern sector (Mexican Caribbean) is the most species, it concentrates up to 45% of the species recorded in the Caribbean. The insular Caribbean is nearly as diverse as the continental areas (75 vs 83 species recorded, respectively). The dominance of taxa related to coastal systems with coarse and fine sands and carbonatesediments reveals the general trend in the type of habitats surveyed in the Caribbean Sea. Up to 37 species found in the Mexican Caribbean represent new records for this country. There are enormous hiatuses in the knowledge of the Caribbean harpacticoids in terms of geographic, bathymetric, and environmental coverage. It is expected this list will grow rapidly and many undescribed forms will be discovered when understudied or unexplored environments are surveyed in detail

Harpacticoid copepods associated with <i>Spartina alterniflora</i> culms from the marshes of Cocodrie, Louisiana (Crustacea, Copepoda)

Seven harpacticoid copepods have been found living on the lower parts of Spartina alterniflora culms, from Cocodrie marshes in Louisiana (U.S.A.). This contribution deals exclusively with the systematics of these species. Mesochra wolskii Jakubisiak is redescribed and a new key to the species of the genus is given. M. neotropica Jakobi is allocated to the genus Amphibiperita n. gen. and is redescribed and discussed in detail. A new laophontid species, F. mangalis n. sp. is described and placed together with Laophonte chathamensis Sars in the genus Folioquinpesn. gen. Some amendations on the description of Schizopera knabeni Lang are given and the peculiar shape of the furcal setae of Nannopus palustris Brady is illustrated

Redescription of two Iranian cyclopoids: <i>Thermocyclops tinctus</i> Lindberg, 1936 and <i>Th. hyalinus persicus</i> Lindberg, 1936 (Copepoda, Cyclopoidae)

Two Thermocyclops species, Th. tinctus LINDBERG, 1936 and Th. hyalinus persicus LINOBERG, 1936, both described from Iran, are redescribed in detail after reexamination of the type-series. Th. tinctus appears to belong to a group of species which are characterised by the spinular surface of the leg 4 coupler, the compact genital double-somite, and the relative shortness of the apical spines of the leg 4 endopodite. Th. hyalinus persicus, considered for long as synonymous with Th. crassus, resembles most to Th. vermifer. The particular morphology of the principal seta on the caudal rami appears to be typical for the Iranian populations, named Th. vermifer persicus

Zooplankton distribution across the brackish and freshwater zone of the Scheldt estuary

Zooplankton diversity and distribution in the brackish and freshwater zone of the Scheldt is studied, as a continuation of preceeding studies carried out in the periods 1967-1669 and 1995-1997. We report on species diversity and abundancy of the zooplankters, collected on a monthly basis, in 20 sampling sites along the salinity gradient. Calanoids occur mainly in the brackish part, with Eurytemora affinis, Acartia tonsa and Eudiaptomus gracilis as the dominant species. In the freshwater region, rotifers (i.e. Brachionus calyciflorus, Keratella quadrata, among others), cyclopids (i.e. Acanthocyclops robustus, Cyclops vicinus) and cladocerans (Daphnia longispina, Bosmina longirostris...) are the dominant zooplankters. In addition, we report the presence of several species which were not detected in the former studies, such as the rotifers Brachionus leydigi var. quadratus, Notholca labis, Platyias quadricornis, Euchlanis dilatata, Gastropus hyptopus, Testudinella patina, Polyarthra dolichoptera and Trichotria sp. ; the cladocerans Acroperus harpae and Biapertura affinis, and the harparticoid Bryocamptus (Bryocamptus) minutus

Two new species of <i>Mesochra</i> Boeck, 1865 (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from a coastal lagoon in Sinaloa State, Mexico

Two new species of the genus Mesochra, M. pacifica n. sp. andM. pseudoparva n. sp. are described from Ensenada del Pabellón Lagoon (southeastern Gulf of California, Mexico). Both species are considered as most closely related to M. parva Thomson 1946, although they share some features with M. sewelli Lang 1948. A particular forked structure on the male P3 endopodite of M. pseudoparva n. sp. was found and the homology of this structure is discussed. An updated key to the species in the genus is provided