Suárez-Morales, E. & K.E. Velázquez-Ornelas. (2023). First record of Monstrilla leucopis GO Sars, 1921 (Copepoda, Monstrilloida, Monstrillidae) from the eastern Pacific. Crustaceana. 96(11-12):1183-1190. Dec 2023.
First record of Monstrilla leucopis GO Sars, 1921 (Copepoda, Monstrilloida, Monstrillidae) from the eastern Pacific.
Crustaceana
96(11-12):1183-1190. Dec 2023
Publication
Available for editors
Members of the copepod order Monstrilloida Sars, 1901 are endoparasites of benthic marine invertebrates. Non-feeding, planktonic adult males and females of different species are known mostly from coastal habitats including estuaries, coastal lagoons, coral reefs (Sale et al., 1996; Suárez-Morales, 2001) and rocky shore tidepools (Cruz et al., 2021). Deep oceanic waters were an unlikely source of monstrilloid specimens for taxonomic studies, mainly because of their limited swimming capacity and their need to remain close to their potential benthic hosts (Suárez-Morales, 2001, 2011).
The taxonomic examination of an adult female Monstrilla collected incidentally with a deep-water plankton net operated at a depth range of 0-1360 m in oceanic waters (65-80 km from the coastline) off the southern Gulf of California, eastern Pacific, allowed us to recognize this individual as Monstrilla leucopis Sars, 1921, previously known only from northern Europe; this finding is documented herein, including illustrations of its main distinctive characters. This is the first published record of this monstrilloid copepod from the eastern Pacific, the first of the genus from deep oceanic waters, and the third record of Monstrilla in the Gulf of California. A brief morphological account of M. leucopis is provided together with a key to related species.
