Description of Pseudoameiropsissuphankaraytugi sp. nov.(Copepoda: Harpacticoida: Ameiridae) with the first report of the genus Pseudoameiropsis Pallares, 1982 outside of the South Atlantic Ocean

Serdar Sönmez

doi:10.3906/zoo-1803-41

Abstract

A new species of the monotypic genus Pseudoameiropsis was found in samples collected from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The new species can be separated from P. argentinus by the armature formula in the endopod of the second to fourth swimming legs (0, 1, 021; 0, 1, 121; 0, 1, 121 in P. argentinus, but 1, 1, 221; 1, 1, 221; 1, 1, 221 in the new species), and armature complement in the third exopodal segment of the fourth swimming leg (with eight setae/spines in the new species, but seven elements in P. argentinus). The general shape and armature of the female fifth leg is similar in the two species but some minor differences in their ornamentation were observed. This is also the first record of the genus in the Mediterranean Sea and outside of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Highlights

The genus Pseudoameiropsis was established by Pallares (1982) to accommodate P. argentinus found in washings of red algae and in plankton samples collected from Bahía Thetis, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (South Atlantic Ocean)
Pallares (1982) considered Pseudoameiropsis as closely related to Ameiropsis Sars, 1907 and Ameiropsyllus Huys, 2009 by the structure of the antennal exopod and mandibular palp, and defined the genus by the combination of the following characters: i) first antennulary segment not elongated; ii) short caudal rami; iii) rami of P1–P4 three-segmented; iv) structure of A2 exopod; v) biramous mandibular palp, vi) presence of an inner seta on P1 exp-2; vii) P1 endp-1 strongly prehensile, with first segment extremely elongated, and second and third segments very small; and viii) first endopodal segment of P2–P4 reduced
The new species described here seems to be closely related to Ameiropsis, Ameiropsyllus, Pseudoameiropsis, and Biameiropsis by the biramous mandibular palp and the structure of the female A1 (Gee, 2009)

Summary

Introduction

The family Ameiridae Boeck, 1865, with more than 400 species accommodated in 50 genera, is one of the most speciose harpacticoid families, which can be found in a wide range of habitats from marine to freshwater (Boxshall and Halsey, 2004; Wells, 2007).The genus Pseudoameiropsis was established by Pallares (1982) to accommodate P. argentinus found in washings of red algae and in plankton samples collected from Bahía Thetis, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (South Atlantic Ocean). Pallares (1982) considered Pseudoameiropsis as closely related to Ameiropsis Sars, 1907 and Ameiropsyllus Huys, 2009 by the structure of the antennal exopod and mandibular palp (the latter biramous), and defined the genus by the combination of the following characters: i) first antennulary segment not elongated; ii) short caudal rami; iii) rami of P1–P4 three-segmented; iv) structure of A2 exopod (two-segmented; first segment slightly elongated, with one seta; distal segment short, with two setae); v) biramous mandibular palp, vi) presence of an inner seta on P1 exp-2; vii) P1 endp-1 strongly prehensile, with first segment extremely elongated, and second and third segments very small; and viii) first endopodal segment of P2–P4 reduced. The genus Pseudoameiropsis was established by Pallares (1982) to accommodate P. argentinus found in washings of red algae and in plankton samples collected from Bahía Thetis, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (South Atlantic Ocean). The distribution of the only species of Pseudoameiropsis, P. argentinus, was restricted to its type locality, Bahía Thetis, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, until Bick and Arlt (2013) reported the species from the intertidal zone of King George Island, at the southeast of Bahía Thetis in the South Atlantic Ocean. Nov., was found in samples taken from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

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Conclusion