CYCLOPINAE Rafinesque, 1815

ALLOCYCLOPS Kiefer, 1933; amend. Fiers, 2012

The genus Allocyclops has beeen recently revised by Karanovic (2001) who subdivided it into three subgenera, viz. Allocyclops Kiefer 1932 s.str., Psammocyclops Kiefer 1955 and Stolonicyclops Reid & Spooner 1998.

"The current systematics of the genus Allocyclops Kiefer, 1932 is a contentious subject. The emended diagnosis proposed in 2001 by Karanovic has not been unanimously accepted and the classical outline and species arrangement has been favoured in the latest update by Dussart and Defaye in 2006. Based on re-examination of types and additional material both concepts are tested and rejected because they are unnatural groupings. The redefined genus absorbs Bacillocyclops Lindberg, 1956 within it, and includes the species Allocyclops chappuisi Kiefer, 1932, Allocyclops cavicola Chappuis, 1951, Allocyclops beadlei (Lindberg, 1956) comb. nov. and Allocyclops botosaneanui Plesa, 1981. Psammocyclops Kiefer, 1955 and Stolonicyclops Reid and Spooner, 1998 are re-instated as separate genera: the former including Psammocyclops excellens Kiefer, 1955 and Psammocyclops ritae (Dumont and Lamoot, 1978), the latter including Stolonicyclops heggiensis Reid and Spooner, 1998 only. Hypocyclops gen. nov. is erected to accommodate Hypocyclops kieferi (Petkovski, 1971) comb. nov. and Hypocyclops montenegrinus (Karanovic, 2001) comb. nov. Virbiocyclops gen. nov. is defined for Virbiocyclops silvaticus (Rocha and Bjornberg, 1988) comb. nov. and Olmeccyclops gen. nov. for Olmecyclops veracruzanus (Suárez-Morales, Mendoza and Mercado-Salas, 2010) comb. nov. Speocyclops transsaharicus Lamoot, Dumont and Pensaert, 1981 is allocated to the genus Hesperocyclops Herbst, 1984 and Bryocyclops arenicolous (Fryer, 1956) returned to its initial placement in Metacyclops Kiefer 1927. Each of the herein (re)defined genera is representative of a different lineage within Cyclopidae. The status and affinities of Cyclops minutissimus Kiefer, 1933auct. and Allocyclops (A.) australonipponicus Tomikawa, Ishida and Mawatari, 2005 remain unresolved" (Fiers, 2012),

Moreover, Karanovic (2001) included in the genus Allocyclops also the species Speocyclops orcinus Kiefer, 1937 as Allocyclops (s.str.) orcinus (Kiefer, 1937) and Bryocyclops arenicolous (Fryer, 1956) as Allocyclops (s.str.) arenicolous (Fryer, 1956).

The genus Allocyclops is widespread on all continents, except Antartica.


  • Allocyclops arenicolous (Fryer, 1956) [Africa; damp habitat]
  • Allocyclops austrionipponicus Tomikawa, Ishida & Mawatari, 2005 [Japan; fresh waters]
  • Allocyclops beadlei (Lindberg, 1956) [Africa; fresh water]
  • Allocyclops botosaneanui Plesa 1981 [Cuba; ground waters, caves]
  • Allocyclops cavicola Chappuis 1951 [Africa; ground waters]
  • Allocyclops chappuisi Kiefer 1932 [Africa; India; ground waters]
  • Allocyclops (Psammocyclos) consensus Karanovic, 2006
  • Allocyclops kieferi Petkovski, 1971 accepted as Hypocyclops kieferi (Petkovski, 1971)
  • Allocyclops minutissimus (Kiefer 1933) [Yugoslavia; ground waters]
  • Allocyclops montenegrinus Karanovic, 2001 [Montenegro; subterranean waters] (= Hypocyclops montenegrinus (Karanovic, 2001)
  • Allocyclops neotropicalis Dussart, 1984 [Venezuela; fresh waters] (=Yansacyclops neotropicalis (Dussart, 1984)
  • Allocyclops nudus Fiers & Lagnika. 2015 [Benin; subsoil aquifer]
  • Allocyclops orcinus Kiefer 1937 [France; ground waters] **
  • Allocyclops pilosus Fiers & Lagnika. 2015 [Benin; subsoil aquifer]
  • Allocyclops ritae Dumont & Lamoot, 1978 [Ivory Coast]
  • Allocyclops sakitii Fiers & Lagnika. 2015 [Benin; subsoil aquifer]
  • Allocyclops silvaticus Rocha & Bjornberg, 1988 [Brazil: leafs litters cultures] *
  • Allocyclops spinifer Fiers & Lagnika. 2015 [Benin; subsoil aquifer]
  • Allocyclops veracruzanus [Mexico; bromeliads] Suarez-Morales et al., 2010 (=Olmeccyclops veracruzanus (Suárez-Morales, Mendoza & Mercado-Salas, 2010)

    * Transferred to Virbiocyclops (Fiers, 2012)

    **Recently Fiers & Pandourski (2008) reallocated this species to the genus Speocyclops

    The status and affinities of Allocyclops (A.) minutissimus (Kiefer 1933) and Allocyclops (A.) austrionipponicus Tomikawa, Ishida and Mawatari, 2005 remain unresolved. They are at present considered gen. spec. inq. [from: Fiers, 2012: Cyclops (Diacyclops) ? minutissimus Kiefer, 1933. The generic concept of Allocyclops Kiefer, 1932: (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae) an alternative view. Journal of Natural History Volume 46, Issue 3-4, 2012]


    | KEY TO WORLD SPECIES OF ALLOCYCLOPS |


    DEFAYEIYCLOPS Alekseev et Vaillant, 2013

  • Defayeicyclops jamaicensis (Reid et Janetski , 1996


    BREVICYCLOPS Rao Totakura T.V. & Ranga Reddy Y. 2015.

  • Brevicyclops brevisetosus Rao Totakura T.V. & Ranga Reddy Y. 2015. [India; groundwaters]
  • Brevicyclops asetosus Rao Totakura T.V. & Ranga Reddy Y. 2015. [India; groundwaters]
  • Brevicyclops viduus Rao Totakura T.V. & Ranga Reddy Y. 2015. [India; groundwaters]


    APOCYCLOPS Lindberg, 1942

    The genus Apocyclops Lindberg, 1942, formerly described as a subgenus of Cyclops, occurs in brackish water bodies (coastal lagoons, bays, estuaries, pools, caves, lakes in desert areas), most species coming from tropical and subtropical regions. The species A. dimorphus (Kiefer, 1934) is questionable.

  • Apocyclops barri Botelho & Rocha, 2000
  • Apocyclops borneoensis Lindberg, 1954 [Borneo, China; fresh waters]
  • Apocyclops buxtoni (Gurney, 1921) accepted as Apocyclops dengizicus (Lepeshkin, 1900) represented as Apocyclops dengizicus dengizicus (Lepeshkin, 1900) accepted as Metacyclops dengizicus (Lepeshkin, 1900)
  • Apocyclops cmfri Loka et al., 2017 [India; Arabian Sea off Karwar, Karnataka, India]
  • Apocyclops dengizicus dengizicus (Lepechkin, 1900) [cosmopolitan; fresh and brackish waters] *
  • Apocyclops diaphanus (Fischer, 1853) accepted as Microcyclops diaphanus (Fischer, 1853)
  • Apocyclops dimorphus (Kiefer, 1934)
  • Apocyclops dengizicus elamicus (Lindberg, 1940) [India; fresh waters]
  • Apocyclops distans (Kiefer, 1956) [Venezuela, Guadalupe; fresh waters]
  • Apocyclops japonensis Ito, 1958 [Japan; fresh waters] **
  • Apocyclops panamensis (Marsh, 1913) [USA, central America, Yucatan, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Africa; fresh waters, lagoons]
  • Apocyclops panamensis var. tannica (Davis, 1948) [USA; fresh waters]
  • Apocyclops ramkhamhaengi Chullasorn et al.. 2008 [Thailand; brackish waters]
  • Apocyclops procerus (Herbst, 1955) [Nicaragua, Perů, Brazil; fresh waters, estuaries]
  • Apocyclops royi Lindberg, 1940 [Africa (Egypt)?, India, China; fresh waters ] *
  • Apocyclops spartinus (Ruber, 1966) [USA; fresh waters]
  • Apocyclops viduus (Kiefer, 1933) [Arouba; fresh waters] ***


    * Lepeschkin (1900) described Apocyclops dengizicus as Cyclops diaphanus var. dengizica to accomodate material from brackish waters of the lake Selety-Tengiz (Kazakstan). Kiefer (1926) raised it at specific level, and later on Lindberg (1942, 1954) attributed it to the genus Apocyclops. Recently Mirabdullayev & Stuge (1998) redescribed the species on material from Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, reporting as well data on its variability and distribution in central Asia.

    Knott & Jasinska (1998) reported this species from Australia as Microcyclops dengizicus.

    Other synonyms are: Apocyclops buxtoni (Gurney, 1921) and Apocyclops dimorphus (Kiefer, 1934) (Dussart & Defaye, 1985); Herbst (1984) considered A. buxtoni and A. dimorphus as valid taxa. Gurney (1921) described Cyclops buxtoni from the Tigris River, Amara (Iraq), later renaming it Cyclops dengizicus when he discovered this species in brine pools at Kabret and in bitter pools of Lake Timash (Egypt). According to Arnofsky (in litt.) it is possible that C.buxtoni could be synonym of Apocyclops royi Lindberg, 1940.

    ** japonicus in Herbst (1984)

    *** questionable species

    Identification key for the species

    REVISION OF THE GENUS APOCYCLOPS


    BACILLOCYCLOPS Lindberg, 1956

  • Bacillocyclops beadlei Lindberg, 1956 [Africa; fresh water]


    CASPICYCLOPS Monchenko, 1986

  • Caspicyclops mirabilis, Monchenko, 1986 [Caspian Sea; interstitial]


    COCHLACOCYCLOPS Kiefer, 1955

  • Cochlacocyclops ateles Kiefer, 1955 [Madagascar; fresh waters]


    ANZCYCLOPS Karanovic et al., 2011

  • Anzcyclops ballensis Karanovic et al., 2011 [Australia; ground waters]
  • Anzcyclops belli Karanovic et al., 2011 [Australia; ground waters]
  • Anzcyclops indicus Rao Totakura T.V. & Ranga Reddy Y. 2015. [India; groundwaters]
  • Anzcyclops euryantennua Karanovic et al., 2011 [Australia; ground waters]
  • Anzcyclops pearsoni McRae et al., 2015 [Australia; ground waters]
  • Anzcyclops trotteri McRae et al., 2015 [Australia; ground waters]
  • Anzcyclops yarrienis Karanovic et al., 2011 [Australia; ground waters]


    APALACHOCYCLOPS Fiers, 2011

  • Apalachocyclops minotaurus Fiers, 2011 [USA; groundwaters]




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