Some poorly knownAsterocheresspecies (Siphonostomatoida: Asterocheridae) deposited in the Natural History Museum of London

Abstract

A total of seven poorly known species of the genus Asterocheres, the largest genus of the family Asterocheridae, are redescribed based on material deposited in the Natural History Museum of London. Among the material available, there were specimens of both sexes of A. bulbosus, A. ellisi and A. rotundus; the dissected holotypes for A. hongkongensis, A. indicus and A. ovalis which have no other specimens; and only cotype of A. micheli, turned out to be lost. Some taxonomically important appendages of these species are described and illustrated for the first time. Furthermore, discrepancies have been observed in: (1) the general shape of the body; (2) the antennule segmentation; (3) the omission of some elements in various oral appendages; and (4) the segmentation of the mandibular palp. These redescribed species were then compared with their closest congeners.

A new species of Asterocheres (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) <br />with a redescription of A. complexus Stock, 1960 and A. sarsi <br />Bandera &amp; Conradi, 2009

“…Some years ago a partial revision of the genus Asterocheres Boeck, 1859 was initiated in order to clarify the rather confused systematics and phylogenetic relationships of this symbiotic genus. This ongoing taxonomical revision has been based on both material loaned by various museums and material collected by the authors, and has resulted in: (1)the description of six new species (Bandera et al 2005(Bandera et al , 2007Conradi et al 2006;Bandera & Conradi 2009b Sars (1915) as a distinct species (Bandera & Conradi 2009b). Here, we describe this last species as Asterocheres sarsi Bandera & Conradi 2009 from material collected by Sars in Norway in 1915 and deposited in The Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo, and redescribe another asterocherid species, A. complexus Stock 1960 that exhibit similarities with A. sarsi species to which has been sometimes confused (Sars 1915;Stock 1960).…”