Abstract
As a part of ongoing efforts for monitoring benthic ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico, Harpacticoid copepods were collected from the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Among them we report three new species of Zosime, and a new species of Peresime for the study area. Zosime is the most specious-rich genus in the family. Three species of Zosime were morphologically similar to Z. paratypica Becker and Schriever, 1979, Z. atlantica Bodin, 1968, and Z. destituta Kim J.G., Jung and Yoon, 2016, respectively. However, all three species have unique characteristics that distinguish them from similar species such as setal formulae and shape of female P5 and caudal rami. The new species of Peresime has similar morphological characters with P. reducta (Becker and Schriever, 1979). These two species can be distinguished by differences in mouth parts and the length of the setae on P2. This is the first report on the genera Zosime and Peresime from the Gulf of Mexico. We also discuss the global diversity and distribution of Zosimeidae and provide a key to the genera of the family and species of each genus, including the four new species from the Gulf of Mexico.
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