Four new genera of the Ceratonotus group (Copepoda, Harpacticoida), including the description of two new species

In the framework of an ongoing extensive phylogenetic evaluation of the Ceratonotus group (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Cletodidae), Poropsyllus menzelae gen. et sp. nov. from the sublittoral of south-western Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean Sea) and Paratouphapleura aaroni gen. et sp. nov. from the wester...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European Journal of Taxonomy
Main Author: Kai Horst GEORGE
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Consortium of European Natural History Museums 2021
Subjects:
Antarctica
Crustacea
Cyprus
meiofauna
systematics
Zoology
QL1-991
Botany
QK1-989
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.774.1525
https://doaj.org/article/2293a22fd5114e4691971e4bd89946d4
Description
Summary:In the framework of an ongoing extensive phylogenetic evaluation of the Ceratonotus group (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Cletodidae), Poropsyllus menzelae gen. et sp. nov. from the sublittoral of south-western Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean Sea) and Paratouphapleura aaroni gen. et sp. nov. from the western Weddell Sea (Antarctica) are described. Both new species fit the autapomorphies of the Ceratonotus group but cannot be assigned to any of the genera so far known. Instead, each new species presents a set of derived characters that justify their placement in new genera, Poropsyllus gen. nov. and Paratouphapleura gen. nov., respectively. Furthermore, a comparison of the species placed in Ceratonotus Sars revealed that because of exclusive morphological deviations, Ceratonotus concavus Conroy-Dalton, C. steiningeri George, C. tauroides George, and C. vareschii George should be excluded from Ceratonotus and transferred to a new monophylum, Tauroceratus gen. nov. Likewise, Polyascophorus monoceratus George, Wandeness & Santos is characterized by several apomorphies that justify its transfer from Polyascophorus to a new taxon, Pseudopolyascophorus gen. nov. The Ceratonotus group is therefore increased to 31 species assigned to 13 genera. The systematic modifications conducted and resulting phylogenetic consequences are discussed in detail.

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