A new genus and species of Entomolepididae Brady, 1899 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) associated with the endemic octocoral Phyllogorgia dilatata (Esper, 1806) (Cnidaria, Octocorallia) from Northeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT

Neoparmulella periperiensis gen. et sp. nov. is a new siphonostomatoid copepod found associated with an endemic octocoral Phyllogorgia dilatata (Esper) in Bahia State, northeastern region of Brazil. The new genus belongs to the subfamily Parmulodinae which is recorded for the first time in the South Atlantic Ocean. The new genus differs from all other entomolepidids once it shows the fourth leg biramous and 3-segmented. The third endopodal segment of leg 4 also bears reduced setation. Modifications on the family diagnosis are proposed in order to accommodate the new genus and recent species described. The validity of the subfamilies is also discussed.

MS - http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:772ED5F9-A5C8-4A5A-AFCE-DCEB6C0FBC9E

Genus - http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B07DF237-B490-4329-AB83-047AA978AB19

species - http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:428395E5-258C-4425-9B11-F70F7E8F1326

KEYWORDS:

• Symbiotic copepod
• associated fauna
• Octocorallia
• Entomolepididae
• Siphonostomatoida

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank PPGDA/UFBA (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Diversidade Animal da Universidade Federal da Bahia. The first author would also like to thank I. Bonfim, C. Borges, R. Canário, J. Alves and S. Freitas for all support during this study. We are grateful to the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMbio) for collecting permission (Sisbio Nº 15161-1).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) who provided a grant to A. Farias (CNPq/MCTI/FAP/PROTAX Nº 001/2015 process no. 88882.156840/2017-01). This study is part of the project ‘Assessment and research of sun coral in Todos os Santos Bay’, a cooperation agreement between UFBA and CENPES/PETROBRAS (N° 5850.0107361.18.9)