Diversity of freshwater copepods (Maxillopoda: Copepoda: Calanoida, Cyclopoida) from Chiapas, Mexico with a description of Mastigodiaptomus suarezmoralesi sp. nov.

Abstract

In Mexico the knowledge of the freshwater copepod fauna is largely incomplete; after a field expedition to survey the Calanoida and Cyclopoida richness in Chiapas (southeastern Mexico), three species increase the full inventory in the country (of around 86 species). In this manuscript the first record of the genus Metacyclops in Mexico and a new record of Acanthocyclops einslei are reported. In addition, a full description of specimens of a new species assignable to the genus Mastigodiaptomus (M. suarezmoralesi sp. nov.) is presented. This research provides a full morphological description of adult males and females of the new species as well as comments on the morphology of Aglaodiaptomus clavipes. The new records were compared with previous taxonomic reports. Detailed analysis and illustration of the copepod morphology have been performed with the aid of camera lucida, light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Most of the species recorded show Neotropical affinity. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4E3C5C42-F73E-4D91-A85F-E5794B146734

Keywords:

• Copepoda
• free-living
• inventory
• Nearctic
• Neotropical

Acknowledgements

We thank A. García-Morales, M. Elías-Gutiérrez and E. Quijano for collecting zooplankton samples in Chiapas and making them available to us. Support during sessions of SEM was provided by Guadalupe Nieto López, ECOSUR-Tapachula. Janet Reid and one anonymous reviewer improved with their comments the original manuscript.