A revision of Danielssenia perezi Monard, D. paraperezi Soyer, D. eastwardae Coull (Harpacticoida; Paranannopidae) and their transfer to a new genus

Abstract

The harpacticoid copepod Danielssenia perezi Monard, 1935 is redescribed on the basis of the only available material from the Scilly Isles off south-west Britain. Sentirenia gen. nov is erected because this species exhibits significant differences from the type species Danielssenia typica Boeck, 1872 in the structure of the antennule; the presence of sensory aesthetascs on, and structure of, the mandible, maxillula and maxilla; the form of the female P5; the setation of the swimming legs and details of the sexual dimorphism on the endopod of the male P2. Further, it is shown that the characters by which D. paraperezi Soyer, 1970 was originally distinguished from D. perezi are no longer valid and D. paraperezi is a junior synonym of S. perezi which now assumes a boreo-mediterranean distribution. A re-examination of the type material of D, eastwardae Coull, 1971 shows that this species is identical to S. perezi in the structure of the mouthparts (including the presence of aesthetascs on the mandible, maxillula and maxilla) and setation of P1–P5. However, within the genus Sentirenia, its specific status is maintained by virtue of a 5-segmented female antennule; a difference in the shape of the endopodal lobe of the female P5; the sexually dimorphic characters of the male P2 endopod; and variation in the ornamentation of some appendages.