ACARTIIDAE

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2481

Family ACARTIIDAE

Acartia spinicauda Giesbrecht, 1889 Introduced

Acartia spinicauda is a planktonic copepod that originates from the coastal regions and estuaries of the western Pacific ( Japan, China, Indonesia and India). The first South African record is from 2003 in Richard’s Bay Harbour on the east coast ( Jerling 2008). It is thought to have been present both in Richard’s Bay and Durban Harbour (also on the east coast) 15 years earlier, since at least 1993 (A. Connell CSIR Durban, personal communication). We consider this species to be a ballast water introduction.