A new species of Monstrilla (Crustacea: Copepoda: Monstrilloida: Monstrillidae) collected by the R/V Albatross (1908) from the Sulu Sea, Philippines

ABSTRACT

Monstrilloid copepods are protelean parasites of various groups of benthic invertebrates. The taxonomy of some monstrilloid genera is still in development. The re-examination of museum collections and redescription of the earliest described species have proven to be useful tools to unravel some of these problems. An examination of monstrilloid specimens collected from the Philippines area by the US Steamer Albatross in 1908 and deposited in the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, revealed the presence of a male specimen representing an undescribed species of the genus Monstrilla. The new species is described and illustrated following current standards in monstrilloid copepod taxonomy. It can be easily distinguished from its congeners by the unique cuticular ornamentation pattern on its cephalothorax, the number of caudal setae, and details of its geniculate antennules and genital complex.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1FAF5CD7-6EF9-4405-8572-22E46F32A359

KEYWORDS:

• marine zooplankton
• copepods
• taxonomy
• monstrilloids

Acknowledgements

The holotype individual of the new species was examined thanks to a loan by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. The loan was possible with the kind aid of T. Chad Walter and Janice Clark Walker. My gratitude to an anonymous referee, who provided constructive, detailed comments that allowed me to improve an earlier version of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

The author reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.