Abstract
During the analysis of phytal meiobenthic samples collected from a rocky-sandy beach in the state of Nayarit, in the Mexican Pacific, several specimens of harpacticoid copepods were obtained and taxonomically examined. These specimens were found to represent an undescribed species of the peltidiid genus Peltidium Philippi, 1839. The new species, Peltidium nayarit sp. n. is described herein. It resembles Peltidium nichollsi Geddes and Peltidium lerneri Geddes from Bahamas but also the widespread Peltidium speciosum Thompson & Scott and Peltidium purpureum Philippi. The new species from the Mexican Pacific differs from its known congeners by its possession of a unique combination of characters, including a modified pectinate seta on the antennary exopod, three terminal setae on the second endopodal segment of leg 1, third exopodal segment of leg 1 with three elements, inner terminal claw twice as long as outer claw, female fifth leg with 5 exopodal setae, exopodal setae I-III stout, spinulose and seta IV being as long as seta V. This is the second species of the family known to be distributed in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and in Mexico. Pending additional data, the distribution of this species appears to be restricted to this area of the Mexican Pacific.
Highlights
Research on phytal meiobenthos has been advancing in many regions, but there are large areas in which this important community has received little attention (Song et al 2010)
Members of the harpacticoid copepod family Peltidiidae Claus are usually recorded from sandy beaches and live associated with algal patches
Peltidium is a very widely distributed genus with records from different regions of the world but it is not very diverse in a given area, for instance only three species are known from the Mediterranean: P. gracile (Claus, 1889), P. purpureum Philippi, 1839, and P. robustum (Claus, 1889) (Todaro and Cecherelli 2010), two species are known to occur in East Asia (Song and Yun 1999), and only five species of Peltidium have been known to occur in the Caribbean region (Varela 2005, Suárez-Morales et al 2006)
Summary
Research on phytal meiobenthos has been advancing in many regions, but there are large areas in which this important community has received little attention (Song et al 2010). Taxonomic study of these communities is a basic step in monitoring their abundance and diversity patterns. Members of the harpacticoid copepod family Peltidiidae Claus are usually recorded from sandy beaches and live associated with algal patches. They have dorso-ventrally flattened bodies adapted to cope with the strong water flow related to their habitat (Hicks 1986). It is known to contain 24 species (Boxshall and Halsey 2004, Wells 2007) but the number of species assigned to this taxon has varied depending on the authors criteria. Nicholls (1941) recognized 19 species, Lang (1948) included 15 and Bodin (1997) recognized 14 species. Wells (2007) recognized that several nominal species that have been assigned to this genus still have an uncertain status
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