Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe)

Gómez, S. & Morales-Serna, F. N., 2013, On a small collection of Laophontidae T. Scott (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from Mexico. I. New species and new records of Laophonte Philippi and Paralaophonte Lang, Journal of Natural History 47 (5 - 12), pp. 329-380 : 345

Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe)

( Figures 15–20 )

Material examined

One dissected female (EMUCOP-090301-189). Collected from Urías System (Sinaloa State, north-western Mexico) (23 ◦ 11 ′ 06 ′′ N, 106 ◦ 25 ′ 06 ′′ W), brackish, less than 2 m depth, 9 March 2001, coll. S. Gómez.

Locality

Urías System (Sinaloa State, north-western Mexico) (23 ◦ 11 ′ 06 ′′ N, 106 ◦ 25 ′ 06 ′′ W) .

Remarks

Paralaophonte zimmeri was described by Douwe (1929) from Cette (Mediterranean Sea), while Bodin (1964) reported the species from Marseille, not far from the type locality. The species has also been reported from the Bahamas by Chappuis and Delamare Debouteville (1956). Fiers (1986) questioned the validity of that record, but Suárez-Morales et al. (2006) listed the species in their checklist of Caribbean harpacticoids. The species has also been reported from the West African coast, the Mediterranean and from the Gulf of Oman ( Fiers 1988). The material presented herein agrees with Douwe’s (1929) description especially in the length: width ratio of the caudal rami ( Figures 15A, B , 16A ), number of segments of the female antennule ( Figure 17A ) and general shape and armature formula of the female P5 ( Figure 16C ). However, the female antennule of P. zimmeri as described by Douwe (1929) possesses an acute projection on the second segment. Wells and Rao (1987) observed a wide range of variability in the female antennule, and it is suggested to provisionally attribute the Mexican material to P. zimmeri until the variability of the species is assessed and the male from the Mexican population is described.

Figures

Figure 15. Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe), female. (A) Urosome, dorsal (P5-bearing somite omitted); (B), urosome, ventral (P5-bearing somite omitted). Scale bars: A, B, 100 µm.

Figure 16. Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe), female. (A) Anal somite and caudal rami, dorsal; (B) maxillule; (C) P5. Scale bars: A–C, 50 µm.

Figure 17. Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe), female. (A) Antennule; (B) antenna; (C) mandible. Scale bars: A, B, 100 µm; C, 50 µm.

Figure 18. Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe), female. (A) Maxilla; (B) maxilliped. Scale bars: A, B, 50 µm.

Figure 19. Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe), female. (A) P1; (B) P2. Scale bars: A, B, 100 µm.

Figure 20. Paralaophonte zimmeri (Douwe), female. (A) P3; (B) P4. Scale bars: A, B, 100 µm.