Frist record of Lichomolgus canui G. O. Sars, 1917 (Copepoda, Lichomolgidae) in the Iberian peninsula

Abstract

The fauna of copepods associated with invertebrates is relatively unknown in the Iberian peninsula. Recently, the Laboratory of Marine Biology from the University of Sevilla and Cádiz (Spain) initiated a program to study these copepods from the coast of the Strait of Gibraltar and nearby areas. Lichomolgus canui G. O. Sars, 1917 is reported for the first time from the Iberian peninsula, associated with the ascidian Styela plicata (Lesueur, 1823). The extemal anatomy is described and compared with other congeneric species, L. albens Thorell, 1859 and L. marginatus Thorell, 1859 which have been confused several times with L. canui. The diagnostic characters of L. canui are: length of body, first antenna, terminal claws of the second antenna, third segment of the exopod of the third leg, terminal spines of the last segment of fourth leg and the length of the caudal ramus. Some notes about the ecology of L. canui, its usual hosts, and its geographical range are discussed.Compañía Española de Petróleos, S. A. (CEPSA), Ayuntamiento de los Barrios, Mancomunidad de Municipios del Campo de Gibraltar y la Agencia de Medio Ambiente (Junta de Andalucía). Proyecto "Bahía de Algeciras

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