Paranannopidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from sublittoral soft sediments in Spitsbergen

Based on specimens of Paranannopidae collected from 30 to 123 m depth in Sassenfjord, Spitsbergen, two species of Paradanielssenia Soyer, 1970 (P. christineae sp. nov. and P. kathleenae sp. nov.) are described. These can be distinguished from known species by differences in the number of claviform aesthetascs on the mouthparts and in the arrangement or form of setae on the legs. A key to species of Paradanielssenia is provided. Mucrosenia gen. nov. (type species M. kendalli sp. nov.) is established on the basis of a single female and can be distinguished from all known paranannopid genera by the structure of the caudal ramus and the P2 endopod-2 which has no inner seta and a large mucroniform process at the outer distal corner. Psammis kliei Smirnov, 1946 is assigned to this genus as species incertae sedis. Danielssenia quadriseta Gee, 1988 is recorded for the first time outside its type locality in Oslofjord. Danielssenia spitsbergensis sp. nov. is described from a single male specimen and can easily be distinguished from other known species by the presence of only two outer spines on exopod-3 of P3-4. However, because of differences in the structure of the P2 endopod and P5, the species is placed incertae sedis within Danielssenia pending the discovery of the female.     

A new genus of Cletodidae (Copepoda; Harpacticoida) from the Bohai Sea,China

Neoacrenhydrosoma zhangi gen. et sp. nov. is described from specimens recovered from muddy sediments in the shallow waters of the Bohai Sea. On the basis of the structure of the mouthparts, P5 of both sexes and the female genital field, it is suggested that the taxon is related to the Acrenhydrosoma-complex within the Cletodidae. It differs from other known genera in the structure of the exopod in P2–P4 which is two-segmented as a result of the failure to separate the proximal two segments of a three-segmented ramus; and the P5 in as much as the mucroniform process incorporates the exopod, as well as the endopodal lobe of the baseoendopod.     

Three new species of the genus Normanella Brady (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the Gulf of Mexico

Three new species of Normanellidae are described from the Texas coast, Gulf of Mexico. Normanella texana sp. nov. has limited areolated patterns on the cephalothorax, short P5 exopod and endopod, short caudal ramus and short caudal seta VI-V. Normanella brevispina sp. nov. is characterized by its relatively long caudal rami, and areolated rostrum. Normanella chanhoi sp. nov. has well-developed areolated patterns on the cephalothorax, six-segmented antennule and a smooth apical margin of the rostrum. N. texana belongs to the bolini -lineage, and N. brevispina to the minuta -lineage. Normanella chanhoi establishes a new lineage of its own.     

Two new genera of Laophontidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the high Antarctic Weddell Sea

Two new genera of the harpacticoid family Laophontidae from the high Antarctic Weddell Sea are described. At present, both taxa cannot be assigned to any of the known genera or lineages of the family. The Antarctic shows the greatest degree of endemism worldwide in several already investigated taxa and, considering the available records, the Laophontidae appear to be no exception to this rule. The available data on the Laophontidae of the Weddell Sea seem to support a hypothesis of an ‘old’ antarctic fauna rather than a recolonization by ‘phylogenetic younger’ taxa after the major climatic changes, which took place in the Antarctic continent and the surrounding waters from the Miocene onwards.     

On three new species of Mesochra Boeck, 1865 (Harpacticoida: Canthocamptidae) from Iceland

Three new species of Mesochra Boeck, 1865, were found during two surveys in south‐western Iceland of the feeding ecology of juvenile lumpsucker Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus, 1758, in floating seaweed and the seasonality of harpacticoids in a low intertidal pool. Only two species of the genus, M. lilljeborgi Boeck, 1864 and M. rapiens (Schmeil, 1894), have been found in previous studies in Iceland. The three new species, Mesochra ingolfssoni sp. nov., Mesochra snoppa sp. nov., and Mesochra freyri sp. nov. resemble M. stellfeldi Jakobi, 1954 in the normal (not dwarfed) outer seta of both male and female P5 EXP, but differ in that M. stellfeldi possesses unequal inner baseoendopodal setae on the female P5. The three new species resemble M. pygmaea (Claus, 1863) in the equal inner baseoendopodal setae of the female P5, but differ in the dwarfed outer seta of the male and female P5 EXP present in M. pygmaea, and can be easily separated by shape of the rostrum, female P6, number of pinnate elements on the second antennular segment, general shape of the antenna and shape of the lateral and distal inner spines, among other character states.     

On four new species of Cletocamptus Shmankevich, 1875 (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from inland waters of Argentina

Argentinean specimens of Cletocamptus of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution as well as recently collected material were analyzed and four new species are described. Cletocamptus assimilis sp. nov. and C. tertius sp. nov. seem to be related to C. levis. Cletocamptus pilosus sp. nov. seems to be related to C. stimpsoni. Cletocamptus spinulosus sp. nov. shares the armature formula of the mandibular palp, the armature formula of P1–P4 and the lower insertion level of the innermost seta of the male P5BENP with C. levis, C. assimilis sp. nov. and C. tertius sp. nov. Cletocamptus spinulosus sp. nov. shares the slender seta of the maxillulary arthrite with C. pilosus sp. nov. and C. stimpsoni, and is unique in the strong spinules along the posterior margin of the P2- to P4-bearing somites. Additional comments on some other species and an identification key to the species of Cletocamptus are presented.     

Two new species of Bulbamphiascus Lang (Copepoda: Harpacticoida: Diosaccidae) from Scotland and the Isles of Scilly,with additional observations on B. denticulatus (Thompson)

Bulbamphiascus incus sp. nov. is described from muddy sediments, high in organics, from below fish cages in salmon farms in two Scottish Lochs. It is characterized by the ornamentation of the urosome, the presence of an anvil‐shaped semi‐hyaline structure on the basis of the male P2 and by the structure of the exopod of the male P5. A form, here given specific status under the name B. scilloniensis sp. nov., is described from St Martin's Island in the Isles of Scilly and is identical to B. incus except for the ornamentation of the urosome in both sexes which is very similar to that found in B. imus. Newly described features of the male of B. denticulatus confirm that this species can only be distinguished from B. imus by the projection at the outer distal corner of the second segment of the antennule in both sexes.     

Survival and reproduction of the mussel Xenostrobus securis (Lamarck) (Mollusca; Bivalvia; Mytilidae) in a Western Australian estuary. Pt. II: Reproduction,growth and longevity

Summary

Growth, longevity and breeding characteristics of populations of the mussel Xenostrobus securis in the Swan Estuary are remarkably variable, both between one year and another and between upstream and downstream localities. These characteristics and their variability may be accounted for by the species' physiological responses and limitations to variable salinity conditions. The Swan Estuary is subject to extreme temporal and spatial variations in salinity. Temperature has only a secondary significance on the biology of the mussel in this estuary.

Activity including growth is inhibited at chlorinities below 2‰. This occurs each winter during the discharge period. At Crawley (downstream) the discharge period rarely lasts more than a few weeks in mid winter, but at upstream limits of the estuary (e.g. Barker Bridge) it is highly variable and may last as long as seven months. Consequently the period of no-growth which corresponds to the discharge period varies between downstream and upstream populations and the total annual growth increment varies accordingly. Similarly the duration of the no-growth period and the total annual growth increment varies from year to year at upstream localities.

At Crawley mussels live only one year. At that locality there is almost total mortality of adults soon after spawning. The relationship of the post-reproductive mortality to intensity of reproductive effort is discussed. At Barker Bridge heavy post-reproductive mortality was not observed and animals may live two years or more. This greater longevity at Barker Bridge is considered to have survival advantage for the population which is living in an unstable and inconsistent environment. Downstream conditions are more seasonally regular and the populations there can rely on having optimal conditions each year.

Spawning begins at the downstream end of the estuary in November or December when the chlorinity rises to the critical lower limit for larval development (8 to 9‰. Cl). A wave of spawning moves up the estuary as the summer progresses, following the zone of optimal salinity conditions. It does not reach Barker Bridge until February or March. In 1964 the chlorinity did not reach the lower limit for larval development at Barker Bridge and no spawning or spatfall occurred there.

It is considered that X. securis is physiologically well adapted for persistence in an estuarine environment characterized by variable and unstable salinity conditions.     

Copepoda associated with scleractinian corals on the Great Barrier Reef,northeastern Australia,with a key to the genera of the Lichomolgidae

Nine new species and three new genera, Parandrianellus, Scyphuliger, and James-cookina, are associated with various species of hard corals in the vicinity of Lizard Island, Big Broadhurst Reef, and Bowl Reef on the Great Barrier Reef. These copepods include the lichomolgids Parandrianellus annulatus from Hydnophora rigida, Scyphuliger concavipes from Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora sarmentosa, Scyphuliger manifestus from Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora squarrosa, James-cookina redacta from Echinopora horrida, Panjakus eumeces from Hydnophora rigida, Anchimolgus abbreviatus and Anchimolgus tanaus from Acrhelia horrescens, Anchimolgus exsertus from Echinopora horrida, and Odontomolgus bulbalis from Merulina ampliata. Schedomolgus tenuatus Humes, 1990, recorded from Acropora hyacinthus and Acropora humilis, is transferred to the genus Scyphuliger. Schedomolgus lobophorus (Humes and Ho, 1968) is recorded from Acropora hyacinthus, Acropora humilis, Acropora sarmentosa, and Acropora intermedia; Amarda goniastreae Humes, 1985, from Favia stelligera; and Amardopsis merulinae Humes, 1974, from Merulina ampliata and Leptoria phrygia. The harpacticoid Alteuthellopsis corallina Humes, 1981, is reported from Merulina ampliata and Stylophora pistillata. A list of those copepods previously known to be associated with hard corals in the area and a key to the 81 genera of the Lichomolgidae are provided.     

The Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) of two beaches in south-east India

Summary

Ten species of harpacticoid copepods were collected from two estuarine beaches near Porto Novo, south-east India. Three are described as new species. Two other species add to our knowledge of intra-specific variation in this group of animals.     

A new genus and two new species of Parastenocarididae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from southeastern India

Indocaris gen. nov. with two new species, Indocaris imbricata sp. nov. and Indocaris inopinata sp. nov., and also for the already known Indocaris tirupatiensis (Ranga Reddy 2011a) comb. nov. – all from the groundwaters in peninsular India. The highly diagnostic synapomorphy of the new genus is a composite character associated with the male leg 4 basis: five or six prominent, imbricate, enlarged, petal-like spinules, arranged as a semi-whorl at the insertion of the endopod and increasing in size from internal to external. Another distinctive feature of the same appendage is that its one-segmented endopod is dilated or bulbous in the proximal half, produced distally into an incurved spiniform or horn-like structure about as long as the corresponding first exopodal segment, and ornamented with three or four fine spinules on the subproximal outer margin. The three species also share a unique constellation of other salient morphologic features, which along with the phylogenetic position of Indocaris gen. nov. within the family Parastenocarididae are discussed. Indocaris gen. nov. has closest phylogenetic affinity with the Neotropical Remaneicari Jakobi, 1972. A short note on the ecology and biogeography of the parastenocaridid species of the Indian subcontinent is provided besides a key for their identification.     

Biogeography and phylogeny of Paraergasilus Markevich, 1937 (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) with descriptions of two new species from the gills of grey mullet

Two new species of Paraergasilus are reported from the gills of four species of grey mullet (Mugilidae). Paraergasilus dichotomus n. sp. was recorded on M. cephalus Linn. from New South Wales, Australia. Paraergasilus curtus n. sp. was found on the same host in Western Australia, on Valamugil cunnesius (Valenciennes) from the Philippines, on Valamugil seheli (Forsskal) from Sri Lanka and on Liza macrolepis (Smith) from Socotra, Yemen. Both new species differ from congeners in possessing a bifid antennary claw. The distribution of Paraergasilus species is summarized and the host specificity of Paraergasilus species is examined. Phylogenetic analysis of the relationships between Paraergasilus species indicated that there are two main lineages within the genus.     

Description of a new species of Indomolgus (Copepoda: Lichomolgidae) associated with corals in the Bay of Bengal,South India

Indomolgus humesi (Poecilostomatoida: Lichomolgidae) is the fifth member of the genus Indomolgus Humes and Ho, 1966. I. humesi was collected from corals while the other four members are associated with sea anemones. It is perhaps significant that all the known species of Indomolgus were collected from the tropical parts of the Indian Ocean, namely Madagascar and India.

I. humesi is closest to I. diversus Humes and Ho but can be easily distinguished by the relatively broad caudal rami of the male. The armature of the second segment of the endopod of leg 4 is I-2, which is different from that of all the other known species.     

A new species of Halectinosoma (Copepoda,Harpacticoida) from the Isle of Man

Summary

A new species of Halectinosoma Lang, 1948, H. pterinum sp. nov. is described from the Isle of Man. Examination of this and some other species of the genus under high magnifications suggests that the diagnosis of the genus may have to be modified.