Three new genera and five new species of misophrioid copepods (Crustacea) from anchialine caves on Indo-West Pacific and North Atlantic Islands

Abstract

Misophrioid copepods are described from anchialine caves on Palau, Western Caroline Islands and on Lanzarote, Canary Islands. A new species of Misophria, M. kororiensis sp. nov., is described, based on material found in a submerged cave on Koror Island, Palau. A new genus, Expansophria gw. nov., characterized by a distensible but unenclosed first pedigerous somite, is established for two new species. The type species, E. dimorpha sp. nov., was collected from a flooded lava tube (Jameos del Agua) on Lanzarote and the second species, E. apoda sp. nov., from a sinkhole on Ngeruktabel Island, Palau. Two other new genera are erected for new species collected in Jameos del Agua on Lanzarote, Pdpophria gen. nov. and Dimisophria gen. nov. The former is characterized by extremely long, uniramous mandibular palps, the latter by the 6 . reduced number of spines on the swimming legs. In addition, a fourth genus and species, represented only by an unnamed copepodid 1V stage, was recorded from Jameos del Agua. It is suggested that at least some of the cave-dwelling misophrioids represent descendants of deep-sea 3 forms which became separated by vertical vicariance events.