Australoeucyclops sp.

Tang, Danny & Knott, Brenton, 2009, Freshwater cyclopoids and harpacticoids (Crustacea: Copepoda) from the Gnangara Mound region of Western Australia, Zootaxa 2029, pp. 1-70 : 6-7

Australoeucyclops sp.

Material examined. Cabaret Cave ( YN30 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°32'31''S,

115°41'24''E): 10 ♀ (1 dissected and mounted on slide), 3 ♂ and 1 copepodid ( AM P.78705–P.78706), 1 June, 1990; 7 ♀, 5 ♂ and 4 copepodids, 27 January, 1991; 6 ♀, 2 ♂ and 2 copepodids, 5 February , 1992; 1 ♂, 29 July , 1993; 5 ♀, 5 ♂ and 5 copepodids, collection date unknown; Carpark Cave ( YN18 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°33'08''S, 115°41'08''E): 2 ♀ and 2 copepodids, collection date unknown; Lot 51 Cave ( YN555 ), Yanchep , Western Australia (31°34'31''S, 115°42'10''E): 1 ♀, 18 September , 2003; 7 ♀ and 2 ♂, 22 September , 2003; 4 ♀ and 1 ♂, 6 October , 2004; 100 ♀ and 14 ♂, 8 November , 2005; 9 ♀, 8 ♂ and 2 copepodids, 10 October , 2007; Fridge Grotto Cave ( YN81 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°31'21''S, 115°40'17''E): 3 ♀, 17 July , 1992; Gilgie Cave ( YN27 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°34'07''S, 115°41'18''E): 1 ♀, 1 ♂ and 6 copepodids, 17 March , 1993; 7 ♀ and 4 copepodids, 28 August , 1994; Yellagonga Cave ( YN438 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°33'04''S, 115°40'58''E): 123 ♀ (2 dissected and mounted on one slide each), 83 ♂ and 205 copepodids, 4 October , 2003; Mire Bowl Cave ( YN61 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°31'32''S, 115°40'32''E): 1 ♂ and 1 copepodid, 17 July , 1992; 1 ♀, 18 September , 2002; 1 ♀ and 1 ♂, 22 September , 2003; 4 ♀ (1 dissected and mounted on slide), 8 November , 2005; Orpheus Cave ( YN256 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°31'00''S, 115°40'10''E): 1 ♂, 17 July , 1992; Spillway Cave ( YN565 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°32'41''S, 115°40'37''E): 2 ♀, 8 November , 2005; Twilight Cave ( YN194 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°34'05''S, 115°41'21''E): 1 ♀, 2 June , 1996; 3 ♀ and 2 copepodids, 27 November , 1996; Water Cave ( YN11 ), Yanchep National Park , Western Australia (31°33'02''S, 115°40'59''E): 5 ♀, 1 ♂ and 8 copepodids, 19 September , 2003; Mrs. King’s tumulus spring, Bullsbrook , Western Australia (31°39'04''S, 115°57'11''E): 1 ♀ and 1 copepodid, 8 May , 1996 .

Remarks. The genus Australoeucyclops was established by Karanovic (2006) to accommodate a new species, A. karaytugi Karanovic, 2006 , collected from a spring in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. He also formally transferred Paracyclops linderi ( Lindberg, 1948) , P. eucyclopoides Kiefer, 1929 , P. timmsi Kiefer, 1969 and P. waiariki Lewis, 1974 into Australoeucyclops , and stated that an as yet undescribed member of this genus existed in the Margaret River region of Western Australia. Our specimens resemble members of this genus in having a slender habitus, 12-segmented female antennule, the inner corner of the basis of legs 2 to 4 produced into a large acute process, absence of an inner seta on the proximal exopodal segment of leg 4 and 1-segmented leg 5 armed with 3 apical elements on the free exopodal segment. Indeed, the specimens from Cabaret Cave were identified previously as Eucyclops linderi (= Australoeucyclops linderi ) by Jasinska & Knott (2000). Recent comparisons between those cave specimens and Lindberg’s (1948) original description of E. linderi indicated that the former is not conspecific with the latter. Further comparisons between our specimens and a set of detailed illustrations kindly provided by Dr. Tomislav Karanovic (University of Tasmania) of the undescribed Australoeucyclops species from a dam and springs in the Margaret River area (see Eberhard 2004) revealed that these disjunct copepod populations contain individuals of the same species. We have also examined specimens collected from Beekeepers Cave, located west of Eneabba, Western Australia (ca. 200 km north of Yanchep National Park), that are conspecific with those from the southern populations. As Dr. Karanovic (in litt.) is currently describing this new Australoeucyclops taxon, we have in this study, for reasons related to ICZN rules, deliberately refrained from using his proposed binomen and excluded descriptions and illustrations of this as yet undescribed taxon.