Systematics and zoogeography of the deep‐sea hyperbenthic family Arietellidae (Copepoda: Calanoida) collected from the Sulu Sea

Abstract

A faunistic survey of the deep-sea hyperbenthic copepods in the Sulu Sea, which has a deep basin and is connected via shallow straits with the Pacific and the South China Sea, was carried out in November and December 2002, using beam trawls and a mid-water trawl. Two new genera and four new species of the primitive calanoid family Arietellidae are described. A new genus Metacalanalis shows intermediate characteristics between those of Metacalanus Cleve, 1901 and Pilarella Alvarez, 1985. Another new genus, Protoparamisophria, is closely related to Paramisophria Scott, 1897, but exhibits more plesiomorphic states in the female genital system and appendages. Two new species of the genera Paraugaptiloides Ohtsuka, Roe, 1994 and Sarsarietellus Campaner, 1984 are the second and the third species, respectively, for these genera. This discovery enhances the validity of these rare genera, and sheds light on the geological history of the Sulu Sea and the evolution of the Arietellidae within it.

A Census of Zooplankton of the Global Ocean

“…This is a major biodiversity hot spot in (Nishikawa et al 2007 ) and has yielded several discoveries of new species and genera, including copepods (Ohtsuka et al 2005 ).…”

Reconstruction of Arietellid Copepod Phylogenetic Relationship, with Description of a New Species ofSarsarietellus(Copepoda, Calanoida, Arietellidae) from Korean Waters

“…Species of the genus Sarsarietellus occur mainly in deep waters near the sea floor (Campaner, 1984;Heinrich, 1993;Ohtsuka et al, 1994Ohtsuka et al, , 2005. To date, the genus Sarsarietellus is composed of only three species, S. abyssalis (Sars, 1905), S. natalis Heinrich, 1993 andS.…”

“…To date, the genus Sarsarietellus is composed of only three species, S. abyssalis (Sars, 1905), S. natalis Heinrich, 1993 andS. suluensis Ohtsuka, Nishida andMachida, 2005 the descriptions of which were based on only females, as no males were collected. Recently we collected many individuals of a species of Sarsarietellus including the female from shallow waters near the sea floor (water depth > ca.…”

A new genus of Arietelloidea (Copepoda, Calanoida), Frankferrarius, from deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean

“…Three arietelloidean families inhabit the near-bottom ofthe world's oceans: Hyperbionichidae with two genera included, Hyperbionyx Ohtsuka, Roe & Boxshall, 1993 (two species) and monotypic Lamiantennula Markhaseva & Schulz, 2006; and the taxonomically-rich family Arietellidae with 36 benthopelagic species of 12 genera {Camapaneria Ohtsuka, Boxshall & Roe, 1994, Crassiarietellus Ohtsuka, Boxshall & Roe, 1994, Griceus Eerrari & Markhaseva, 2000, Metacalanalis Ohtsuka, Nishida & Machida, 2005, Metacalanus, Cleve, 1901, Paramisophria T. Scott, 1897, Paraugaptiloides Ohtsuka, Boxshall & Roe, 1994, Paraugaptilus Wolfenden, 1904, Pilarella Alvarez, 1985, Protoparamisophria Ohtsuka, Nishida & Machida, 2005, Sarsarietellus Campaner, 1984, Scutogerulus Bradford, 1969) and a putative Augaptilidae (Alrhabdus Grice, 1973). However, tme AugaptiUdae in benthopelagic waters have not been found.…”

“…Compilations of original and literature data show that the diversity and proportion of Clausocalanoidea (50 genera and 261 species, 64% and 59%, respectively) in the near-bottom calanoid community is the greatest compared to other calanoid superfamilies. Also common in the vicinity of the sea bed are species of the calanoid superfamily Arietelloidea -15 genera and 41 species, 19% and 9%, respectively (Grice, 1973;Ohtsuka, 1984Ohtsuka, , 1985Ohtsuka et al, 1993Ohtsuka et al, , 1994Ohtsuka et al, , 2005Soh, 1998;Jaume et al, 2000;Ohtsuka & Boxshall, 2004 and others). Benthopelagic genera from the other calanoid superfamilies are much rarer near the bottom of the sea.…”