Barathricola thermophilus: A new species of Cyclopoid Copepod from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent field in the Indian Ocean.

Copepods are minute Crustaceans found in almost all aquatic environments, from the deepest ocean trenches, to films of water on patches of Moss. Free-living Copepods typically have a short, cylindrical body, with a rounded or beaked head. The body is comprised of a head which is fused with the first one or two thoracic segments, followed by three-to-five limb-baring free thoracic segments, then five abdomen segments and a pair oftail-like rami. A wide variety of parasitic Copepods also exist, with extremely variable body-plans. Members of the Order Cyclopoidia are free-living Copepods, predominantly living as members of the plankton in both marine and freshwater environments, though members of the Family Schminkepinellidae, which comprises marine Copepods found in deepwater environments and caves, are often benthic.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 22 July 2019, Viatcheslav Ivanenko of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Jimin Lee of the Marine Ecosystem Research Center at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, Cheon Young Chang of the Department of Biological Science at Daegu University, and Il-Hoi Kim of the Korea Institute of Coastal Ecology, describe a new species of Schminkepinellid Copepod from the Onnuri Vent Field on the Central Indian Ridge in the Indian Ocean.

The new species is placed in the genus Barathricola, which currently contains only a single species, Barathricola rimensis, from a hydrothermal vent field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the north Pacific, and given the specific name 'thermophilus' meaning 'lover of heat' in reference to the fact that it was found in a hydrothermal vent field. Barathricola thermophilus is described from nine male and seven female specimens collected from sediments at a depth of 2022 m. 

Barathricola thermophilus, female: (A) habitus, dorsal (B) urosome, dorsal (C) right caudal ramus, ventral (D) spermatophore (E) rostrum (F) antennule (G) antenna (H) mandible (I) maxillule. Scale bars: 0.1 mm (A) 0.05 mm (B) 0.02 mm (C)–(I). Ivenko et al. (2019).

Females of Barathricola thermophilus range from 700 to 776 μm in length. There are four limb-baring free thoracic segments, followed by a narrow five segmented abdomen. Males are smaller and narrower than the females.

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Parathalestris yeemini: A new species of Harpacticoid Copepod from Tao Island, southern Thailand.

Harpacticoid Copepods are predominantly benthic Copepods found globally in marine and some freshwater environments. A few planktonic species are known, but these are often associated with floating Macro-algae (Seaweed) rather then being true free-living members of the plankton. The majority of Harpacticoids live on or within sediments, with some species having become quite worm-like in form.

In a paper published in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology on 10 November 2016, Supawadee Chullasorn of the Department of Biology at Ramkhamhaeng University, Pawana Kangtia of the Department of Biology at Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University and Sung Joon Song of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography at Seoul National University describe a new species of Harpacticoid Copepod from Tao Island, part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand.

The new species is placed in the genus Parathalestris and given the specific name yeemini, in honour of Thamasak Yeemin of Ramkhamhaeng University for his work on Corals; the species was found living on dead Staghorn Corals, Acropora spp, and in coraline sands (i.e. sands made up of broken fragments of Coral skeletons). Thes Copepods are fusiform in shape (they have a spindle-shaped body that is wide in the middle and tapers towards each end). The sexes are unalike, with females being larger than the males; females observed measured 1.20-1.32 mm in length, while the males measured 0.87-1.15 mm.

Parathalestris yeemini, female. (A) Dorsal view; (B) lateral view; (C), caudal seta V. Chullasorn et al. (2016).

Parathalestris yeemini, Male. (A) Dorsal view; (B) Lateral view. Chullasorn et al. (2016).

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A new species of Calanoid Copepod from southwest Korea.

Calanoid Copepods are small (at most millimetres in length) Arthropods found living in the marine water column across the world. They are a major component of the zooplankton, and as primary consumers of phytoplankton (single-celled planktonic algae), they play an important role in marine food chains. Due to the vast numbers of these organisms found in vast marine swarms they are contenders for the most numerous group of animals; though not the most diverse or specious.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 21 November 2014, Seong Yong Moon and Seok-Hyun Youn of the Fisheries and Ocean Information Division at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute of South Korea and Ho Young Soh of the Faculty of Marine Technology at Chonnam National University describe a new species of Calanoid Copepod from shallow waters in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Mokpo in southwest Korea.

The new species is placed in the genus Parvocalanus, and given the specific name leei in honour of Jungah Lee, the wife of Seong Yong Moon. The species is described from 21 female and 11 male specimens. The females were larger than the males, at 0.75–0.92 mm in females and 0.49–0.69 mm in males. The species was found in mixed swarms with other species of Copepods, in shallow waters with a temperature above 20˚C.

Parvocalanus leei, female, in (A) dorsal and (B) lateral views. Scale bar is 0.1 mm. Moon et al. (2014).

Parvocalanus leei, male, in (A) dorsal and (B) lateral views. Scale bar is 0.1 mm. Moon et al. (2014).

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 A new species of Poecilostomatoid Copepod associated with Ghost Shrimps off the coast of Brazil.

Poecilostomatoid Copepods a minute parasitic Crustaceans that live externally on their hosts, which can be Fish, Molluscs, Echinoderms or other Crustaceans. Most Poecilostomatoid Copepods are marine, though some species are freshwater, and some...

 A new species of Pennellid Copepod from the East China Sea.

Pennellid Copepods are small parasitic Crustaceans that live with their bodies almost entirely buried within the bodies of Fish or Whale hosts, with only the egg sacks and the tip of the abdomen visible from the...

 Four new species of parasitic Copepods from Japan.

Splanchnotrophid Copepods are small parasitic Crustacean that live with their bodies almost entirely burried within the bodies of Gastropod hosts, with only...

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A new species of Poecilostomatoid Copepod associated with Ghost Shrimps off the coast of Brazil.

Poecilostomatoid Copepods a minute parasitic Crustaceans that live externally on their hosts, which can be Fish, Molluscs, Echinoderms or other Crustaceans. Most Poecilostomatoid Copepods are marine, though some species are freshwater, and some species are known from hydrothermal vents, cold seeps and anchialine caves (coastal cave systems with variable salinity). One group of Poecilostomatoid Copepods have become endoparasitic, living inside their hosts. The eggs are carried by the female until they hatch, whereupon the larvae, which do not resemble the adults, are released to live a planktonic life. Upon reaching maturity these larvae find a new host to which to attach, then metamorphose into adults.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 24 September 2013, Terue Kihara of the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Carlos Rocha of the Departamento de Zoologia at the Instituto de Biociências at the Universidade de São Paulo describe a new species of Poecilostomatoid Copepod from the coast of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

The new species is placed in the genus Clausidium, and given the specific name rodriguesi, in honour of Sérgio Rodrigues of the Universidade de São Paulo. Clausidium rodriguesi is described from four female and two male specimens gathered from Ghost Shrimps (Neocallichirus grandimana) living in burrows close to the margin of the Potengi River, off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte State in northeast Brazil. The specimens were 1.36-1.40 mm in length.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy images of a female specimen of Clausidium rodriguesi in (left) dorsal and (right) ventral views. Kihara & Rocha (2013).

See also A new species of Pennellid Copepod from the East China Sea and Four new species of parasitic Copepods from Japan.

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A new species of Pennellid Copepod from the East China Sea.

Pennellid Copepods are small parasitic Crustaceans that live with their bodies almost entirely buried within the bodies of Fish or Whale hosts, with only the egg sacks and the tip of the abdomen visible from the exterior. Like many parasites their bodies have become much reduced, and do not obviously resemble those of other Copepods, or even other Crustaceans.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 29 November 2012, Daisuke Uyeno of the Faculty of Science at the University of the Ryukyus, Kaori Wakabayashi of the Faculty of Marine Science at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and Kazuya Nagasawa of the Graduate School of Biosphere Science at Hiroshima University, describe a new species of Pennellid Copepod from Rattails (Grenadiers) from the East China Sea.

The new species is placed in the genus Sarcotretes, which mainly infects mid- and deepwater benthic Fish, and given the specific name umitakae, in honour of the Umitaka-maru, a training and research vessel of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. Sarcotretes umitakae was found infecting Rattails (Grenadiers) of the species Coelorinchus jordani (a deepwater Fish related to Cod and Hake) off the Tokara Islands in the East China Sea. The species is described from three female specimens, the male being unknown.

 

 (A) Two specimens of the Rattail Coelorinchus jordani infected with Sarcotretes umitakae. Scale bar is 20 mm. (B) Detail of Sarcotretes umitakae. Scale bar is 3 mm. Uyeno et al. (2012).

 

Line drawing of  Sarcotretes umitakae showing the entire animal. Scale bar is 3 mm.  Uyeno et al. (2012).

See also A new species of Sponge dwelling Pontoniine Shrimp from Sabah State, Malaysia, 3D images of a Cretaceous Mantis Shrimp, Two new species of Amphipod Crustacean from the Gulf of Thailand, Four new species of parasitic Copepods from Japan and New species of Grenadier from Japan.

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Four new species of parasitic Copepods from Japan.

Splanchnotrophid Copepods are small parasitic Crustacean that live with their bodies almost entirely burried within the bodies of Gastropod hosts, with only the egg sacks and the tip of the abdomen visible from the exterior. Like many parastites their bodies have become much reduced, and do not obviously resemble those of other Copepods, or even other Crustaceans.The males do not resemble the females, often being smaller and simpler.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 30 November 2013, Daisuke Uyeno of the Faculty of Science at the University of the Ryukyus and Kazuya Nagasawa of the Graduate School of Biosphere Science at Hiroshima University descibe four new species of Splanchnotrophid Copepod from Japan.

The first new species described is placed within the genus Ceratosomicola, and given the specific name japonica meaning 'from Japan'. It was discovered living within the body cavities of the widespread Sea Slug Hypselodoris festiva, off Nohmi-jima Island in Hiroshima Bay.

 

 (Top) Female Ceratosomicola japonica, line drawing. (Bottom) Male Ceratosomicola japonica. Scale bars are 1 mm.  Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

 

 

(Top) Hypselodoris festiva infected with Ceratosomicola japonica, egg sacks showing red below the gills. Scale bar is 5 mm. (Bottom) Detail of the gills. Scale bar is 1 mm. Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

The second new species described is placed in the genus Splanchnotrophus and given the specific name helianthus, meaning 'sunflower', a reference to its colour. It was found living on the Sea Slug Trapania miltabrancha off Matoba Beach in Hiroshima Bay and off Yashiro Island, roughly 100 km to the south.

Splanchnotrophus helianthus (top) female with egg mass. Scale bar is 1 mm. (Bottom) male. Scale bar 100 μm. Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

 

A specimen of Thecacera pennigera infected by Splanchnotrophus helianthus.

Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).


The third new species described is also placed in the genus Splanchnotrophus, and given the specific name imagawai, after Kaoru Imagawa, a professional diver who obtained the Sea Slugs from which the specimens were recovered. It was found living on the Sea Slug Trapania miltabrancha off Red Beach on Okinawa Island. Only the female of the species was discovered.

Splanchnotrophus imagawai, female specimen. Scale bar is 1 mm. Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

  

(Top) Specimen of Trapania miltabrancha infected with Splanchnotrophus imagawai. (Bottom) Detail of the gill ring of an infected specimen, showing the egg masses of the Copepod.

Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

The final new species is placed in a new genus, Majimun, which means 'demon' in Okinawa dialect, and given the specific name shirakawai, after Naoki Shirakawa, the diver who recovered the Sea Slugs in which the specimens were found living. The specimens were recovered from off Miyagi Beach on the East China Sea coast of Okinawa, living on the Sea Slug Roboastra lutiolineata.

Majimun shirakawai, (top) female. Scale bar 1 mm. (Bottom) male. Abbreviations: p1, leg 1, p2, leg 2. Scale bar 100 μm. Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

(Top) Specimen of Roboastra lutiolineata infected with Majimun shirakawai. (Bottom) Female specimen of Majimun shirakawai. Uyeno and Nagasawa (2012).

See also A new Isopod Crustacean from a limestone cave in Brazil, Nauplius Larvae frim the Windyfield Chert in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Two new species of Cave Crab from Christmas Island, The Christmas Island Blue Crab recognized as a distinct species and Two new species of freshwater Isopod Crustaceans from Lake Pedder in Tasmania.

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