Harpacticoid copepods are primarily benthic organisms, which adapted to several kinds of fresh and marine environments, ground waters included. A few are planktonic or live in association with other organisms. In marine sediments, after the nematods, they represent the most aboundant meiofaunal group.
Presently the harpacticoid copepods are widespred across the world, some genera showing a cosmopolitan distribution, other ones are restricted to one continent or exibit more limited geonemy. Most fresh water harpacticoids belong to the families Ameiridae, Parastenocarididae and Canthocamptidae with a great amount of subterranean species.The order Harpacticoida contains over 3.000 species and subspecies belonging to 463 genera contained in 54 families.
A recent family key has been recently published by Huys et al. (1996), who pointed out that "the familial classification of the Harpacticoida is also in a state of flux and many changes are likely to occur in the near future".
| | | | | | |  Harpacticoid morphology variations |
FAMILIES LIST [after Huys & Boxshall (1991); Huys et al. (1996); Bodin (1997)]
Adenopleurellidae Huys 1990,
Aegisthidae Giesbrecht 1892,
Ambunguipedidae Huys 1990,
Ameiridae Monard 192,
Ancorabolidae Sars 1909,
Arenopontiidae Martinez Arbizu & Moura 1994,
Argestidae Por 1986,
Balaenophilidae Sars 1910,
Cancrincolidae Fiers 1990,
Canthocamptidae Brady 1880,
Canuellidae Lang 1944,
Cerviniidae Sars 1903,
Chappuisiidae Chappuis 1940,
Cletodidae T. Scott 1904,
Cletopsyllidae Huys & Lee, 1998/99 ***,
Clytemnestridae Scott 1909,
Cristacoxidae Huys 1990,
Cylindropsyllidae Sars 1909 *,
Darcythompsoniidae Lang 1936,
Diosaccidae Sars 1906,
Ectinosomatidae Sars 1903,
Euterpinidae Brian 1921,
Hamondiidae Huys 1990,
Harpacticidae Dana 1846,
Huntemanniidae Por 1986,
Laophontidae T. Scott 1904,
Laophontopsidae Huys & Willems 1989,
Latiremidae Boric 1969,
Leptastacidae Lang 1948,
Leptopontiidae Lang, 1948 sensu Martinez Arbizu & Moura, 1994,
Longipediidae Brady 1880,
Louriniidae Monard 1927,
Metidae Boeck 1872,
Miraciidae Dana 1846,
Neobradyidae Oloffson 1917,
Normanellidae Lang, 1944 sensu Huys & Willems, 1989,
Novocriniidae Huys & Iliffe, 1998,
Orthopsyllidae Huys 1990 **,
Paramesochridae Lang 1944,
Parastenheliidae Lang 1936,
Parastenocarididae Chappuis 1933,
Peltidiidae Claus 1860,
Phyllognathopodidae Gurney 1932,
Porcellidiidae Brady 1880,
Pseudotachiidae Willen (in press),
Rhizothricidae Por 1986,
Rotundiclipeidae Huys 1988,
Styracothoracidae Huys 1993,
Superornatiremidae Huys, 1998,
Tachidiidae Boeck 1864,
Tegastidae Sars, 1904, Tetragonicipitidae Lang, 1944, Thalestridae Sars, 1905, Thompsonulidae Lang, 1944, Tisbidae Stebbing, 1910
* Martinez Arbizu & Moura (1994) considered the Cylindropsillidae as polyphyletic and desolved it, incorporating the Cylindropsyllinae in the family Canthocamptidae as well as raising to family level the subfamily Leptopontiinae.
** Huys (1990) created the family Orthopsyllidae, including the genera Orthopsyllus (removed from Canthocamptidae) and two new genera (Dionyx, Infrapedia), but till now diagnoses of these taxa did not appear in the scientific literature, so the family name "Orthopsyllidae" could be a "nomen nudum". Later Mielke (1993) reported the genus Orthopsyllus in the family Canthocamptidae, while Bodin (1997) considered it in the Orthopsyllidae sensu Huys.
In the following list, waiting for a definitive review of the family Canthocamptidae and description of the above genera, as well as sharing the Martinez Arbizu's opinion (in litt.) the genus Orthopsyllus is provisionally included in the family Canthocamptidae.
*** Huys & Lee (1998/99) created the family Cletopsyllidae to accomodate the genus Cletopsyllus Willey, 1935 (once included in the family Normanellidae Lang, 1944, subfamily Cletopsyllinae Huys & Willems, 1989) and three new genera, Retrocalcar, Bathycletopsyllus and Isocletopsyllus.
The family name Atergopediidae created by Martinez Arbizu & Moura (1997) is a junior synonym of the Novocriniidae, Atergopedia being the secon valid genus in the family. The family name Paranannopidae Por, 1986 is as well invalid because it is based on the unavailable generic name Paranannopus Lang, 1936; in this regard, Willen (in press) synonymizes the Paranannopidae with the subfamily Pseudotachidiinae (Thalestridae) upgrading this subfamily at family level. The family Danielsseniidae need reinstating.
Recently, Martinez Arbizu & Moura (1994) considered the Cylindropsillidae as polyphyletic and desolved it, incorporating the Cylindropsyllinae in the family Canthocamptidae as well as raising to family level the subfamily Leptopontiinae, including the following genera: Arenopontia Kunz, 1937; Psammopsyllus Nicholls, 1945; Ichnusella Cottarelli, 1971; Leptopontia T. Scott, 1902; Sewellina Krishnaswamy, 1956; Parasewellina Cottarelli, Saporito & Puccetti, 1986; Prosewellina Mielke, 1971; Notopontia Bodiou, 1972; Syrticola Willems & Claeys, 1982 . The genera Minervella Cottarelli & Venanzetti, 1989 and Psamathea Cottarelli & Venanzetti, 1989 (formerly in the family Cylindropsyllidae) are moved to the family LEPTASTACIDAE Lang, 1948 sensu Huys, 1992.
Huys (1990) created the family Orthopsyllidae, including the genera Orthopsyllus (removed from Canthocamptidae) and two new genera (Dionyx, Infrapedia), but till now diagnoses of these taxa did not appear in the scientific literature, so the family name "Orthopsyllidae" could be a "nomen nudum". Later Mielke (1993) reported the genus Orthopsyllus in the family Canthocamptidae, while Bodin (1997) considered it in the Orthopsyllidae sensu Huys.
In the following list, waiting for a definitive review of the family Canthocamptidae and description of the above genera, as well as sharing the Martinez Arbizu's opinion (in litt.) the genus Orthopsyllus is provisionally included in the family Canthocamptidae.
Family Phyllognathopodidae Gurney, 1932
 Genus Phyllognathopus (Mrazek 1893)
Phyllognathopus viguieri (Maupas 1892) N S Si Sa *
* syn. Viguierella coeca Maupas, 1892 [Capolongo et al. (1974)]
DIOSACCIDAE Sars, 1906 [now MIRACIIDAE Dana, 1846 (Willen, 2002)]
The family Diosaccidae Sars, 1906 [now Miracidae (Willen, 2002)] presently includes 36 genera [Actopsyllus, Amonardia, Amphiascoides, Amphiascus, Amphiascopsis, Antiboreodiosaccus, Balucopsylla, Bulbamphiascus, Cladorostrata, Dactylopodamphiascopsis, Diosaccus, Haloschizopera, Helmutkunzia, Ialysus, Metamphiascopsis, Miscegenus, Onychostenhelia, Parialysus, Paramphiascella, Paramphiascoides, Paramphiascopsis, Pholenota, Protopsammotopa, Psammotopa, Pseudamphiascopsis, Pseudodiosaccopsis, Pseudostenhelia, Rhyncholagena, Robertgurneya, Robertsonia, Schizopera, Schizoperoides, Schizoperopsis, Sinamphiascus, Stenhelia, Teissierella, Typhlamphiascus,] with representatives for the most part living in sea waters, a few (Stenhelia, Schizopera, Eoschizopera, Schizoperoides, Cladorostrata, Paramphiascella, Amphiascus) including species living also in fresh or brackish waters, as well as in ground waters.
Key to genera in : Lang K. 1965. Copepoda Harpacticoidea from The Californan Pacific coast. K. svenska vetensk. Akad. Handl., 10 (2): 1-566
Genus Amphiascus G.O.Sars 1905
Amphiascus angustipes Gurney, 1927 3, 4 (NEW ENTRY) *
Amphiascus cf. caudaespinosus Brian 1927 S
Amphiascus cinctus (Claus, 1866) 4 (NEW ENTRY) **
Amphiascus minutus (Claus, 1863) 3 ***
Amphiascus parvus G.O. Sars, 1906 3, 4
Amphiascus propinquus G.O. Sars, 1906 3, 4
Amphiascus varians (Norman & T. Scott, 1905) 4
* syn. Amphiascus sinuatus var. indistinctus Brian, 1927
**syn. Amphiscus lagunaris Grandori, 1925
*** syn. Amphiascus minutus var. tenuis Brian, 1929
Genus Stenhelia Boeck, 1864 subgen. Delavalia Brady, 1868
Stenhelia (Delavalia) elisabethae Por, 1960 4
Stenhelia (Delavalia) normani T. Scott, 1905
Genus Diosaccus Boeck, 1872
Diosaccus tenuicornis (Claus, 1863) 3, 4
Diosaccus varicolor (Farran, 1913)
Diosaccus varicolor biarticulatus (Monard, 1924) 3
Genus Robertsonia Brady, 1880
Robertsonia angolensis (Monard, 1934) 3
Robertsonia monardi (Klie, 1937) 3
Genus Diosaccopsis Brian, 1925
Diosaccopsis rubeus Brian, 1925 3, 4 [questionable species]
Genus Amphiascopsis Gurney, 1927
Amphiascopsis cinctus (Claus, 1866) 3, 4
Amphiascopsis thalestroides (G.O. sars, 1911) 3, 4
Genus Amonardia Lang, 1948
Amonardia phyllopus (G.O. Sars, 1906) 3, 4
Amonardia similis (Claus, 1866) 3, 4
Genus Metamphiascopsis Lang, 1948
Metamphiascopsis hirsutus (Thompson & A. Scott, 1903) 3
Genus Bulbamphiascus Lang, 1948
Bulbamphiascus imus (Brady, 1872) 4
Bulbamphiascus inermis (Sewell, 1940) 3
Genus Robertgurneya Lang, 1948
Robertgurneya similis (A. Scott, 1896) 3, 4 *
* syn. Amphiascus tenax Brian, 1927
Genus Amphiascoides Nicholls, 1941
Amphiascoides brevifurca (Czerniavski, 1868) 3, 4
Amphiascoides neglecta (Norman & T. Scott, 1905) 4
Amphiascoides sterilis (Monard, 1926) 3
Genus Paramphiascella Lang, 1948
Paramphiascella mediterranea Lang, 1948 3
Paramphiascella vararensis (T. Scott, 1903) 3, 4
Genus Schizopera Sars 1905
According to Mielke (1995) "more than 70 species belong to the taxon Schizopera, which shows at least two apomorphic features: the existence of only two spines on the outer margin of the distal segment of exopodites P2-P4 and the presence of a hyaline spine on the distal segment of exopodite P3 (male)". The former is shared with other genera, the latter is an important autapomorphy for the genus Schizopera.
Apostolov (1982) divided the genus Schizopera into three genera: Schizopera (with two subgenera: Schizopera s.str.and Neoschizopera); Eoschizopera Apostolov, 1982 (with two subgenera: Eoschizopera s.str. and Praeoschizopera); and Schizoperopsis Apostolov, 1982 (with two subgenera: Schizoperopsis s. str. and Psammoschizoperopsis). Mielke (1992) rejected these groupings, even if favoured them as a "tool to facilitate identification of the species". The same opinion is shared by Bodin (1997). To date only the genus Schizopera s.str.is known for Italy.
Schizopera cicolanii Galassi & Pesce 1988 S E
Schizopera clandestina (Klie 1924) N S
Schizopera compacta Lint, 1922 4
Schizopera lagrecai Pesce 1987 Si E
Schizopera lindae Apostolov & Pesce 1987 S E
Schizopera subterranea Lang 1948 S E
Family Ameiridae Monard, 1927
The family Ameiridae presently contains more than 300 species and subspecies accomodated in 32 genera [Ameira, Boeck, Proameira Lang, Nitokra Boeck, Psyllocamptus T. Scott, Ameiropsis Sars, Pseudameira Sars, Leptomesochra Sars, Nitocrella Chappuis, Sarsameira Wilson, Sicameira Klie, Psammameira Noodt, Pseudoleptomeochra Lang, Pseudoleptomesochrella Lang, Interleptomesochra Lang, Parapseudoleptomesochra Lang, Praeleptomesochra Lang, Parevansula Guille & Soyer, Paraleptomesochra Wells, Parameiropsis Becker, Limameira Soyer, Styonitocrella Petkovski, Nitocrellopsis Petkovski, Ameiropsyllus Bodin, Pseudoameiropsis Pallares, Psammonitocrella Rouch, Psammoleptomesochra Mielke, Stenocopia Sars, Malacopsyllus Sars, Anoplosoma Sars, Haifameira Por, Filexilia Conroy-Dalton & Huys, Glabrameira Conroy-Dalton & Huys] Representatives of this family inhabit a wide range of environments, from marine to freshwater, subterranean habitat included, sediments. Numerous species live as well as in hot springs or in association with other invertebrates (flatworms, crabs, crayfishes, isopods).
The family has a marine origin, but successfully radiated in fresh waters and subterranean habitats, as exemplified by most species of the genera Nitocrella, Stygonitocrella, Nitocrellopsis, Psammonitocrella and Parapseudoleptomesochra, which regularly can be found in inland and anchialine caves, karstic systems and other groundwater environments.
From a taxonomical point of view, several genera are not well defined, and the entire family requires review (Conroy-Dalton & Huys,1996).
Genus Ameira Boeck, 1864
Ameira longipes Boeck, 1864 3, 4
Ameira parvula (Claus, 1866) 3, 4
Ameira scotti Sars, 1911 S (NEW ENTRY)
Genus Psyllocamptus T. Scott 1899
Psyllocamptus eridani Ceccherelli, 1988 4
Psyllocamptus monachus (Chappuis 1938) S E M [EW]
Psyllocamptus minutus G.O.Sars 1911 S
Genus Nitokra Boeck 1864
Nitokra affinis Gurney 1927 S
Nitokra cf. divaricata Pesce 1983 S
Nitokra hibernica hibernica (Brady 1880) N S
Nitokra hibernica incerta (Richard, 1892/93) S
Nitokra intermedia Pesce 1983 S E
Nitokra lacustris (Schmankevitch 1875) N S Si *
Nitokra phlegraea Brehm 1909 S E
Nitokra cf. psammophila Pesce 1983 S **
Nitokra reducta (Scahfer 1936) S
Nitokra spinipes Boeck 1864 S
Nitokra typica Boeck, 864 3, 4
Nitokra wolterecki Brehm 1909 N
* reported as Nitocra simplex Schmeil, 1894 by Capolongo et al. (1974)
** could be synonym of N. fallaciosa Klie, 1937 (see the review of the genus Nitokra below)
[AN UPDATE WORLD REVIEW OF THE GENUS NITOKRA]
Genus Nitocrella Chappuis 1923
Petkovski (1976) established two new genera within the genus Nitocrella s.l., viz. Stygonitocrella and Nitocrellopsis; moreover, in the same paper the species of the genus Nitocrella s.str. are divided into three species groups: vasconica group, chappuisi group and hirta group. As regard the other genus Psammonitocrella Rouch, 1992 , once considered a genus belonging to the Nitocrella s.l. complex,
Martinez Arbizu & Moura (1994), on account of the armature of male leg 1, suggested that this genus could be better related to Parastenocarididae than to Ameiridae. At present only species of the genus Nitocrella s.str. are known for Italy.
Nitocrella achaiae Pesce 1980 S
Nitocrella beatricis Cottarelli & Bruno 1994 Sa E
Nitocrella fedelitae Pesce 1985 S E M [LR]
Nitocrella juturna Cottarelli 1975 S E
Nitocrella kunzi Galassi & De Laurentiis 1997 S E M [EN C2] (NEW ENTRY)
Nitocrella morettii Pesce 1984 N S E
Nitocrella pescei Galassi & De Laurentiis 1997 S E M [EN C2] (NEW ENTRY)
Nitocrella psammophila Chappuis 1955 N S
Nitocrella stammeri Chappuis 1938 S Sa Si
Nitocrella stochi Pesce & Galassi 1986 N E M [VU D2]
[MAP OF DISTRIBUTION OF NITOCRELLA SPECIES IN ITALY]
Genus Parapseudoleptomesochra Lang 1965
Parapseudoleptomesochra italica Pesce & Petkovski 1980 S E
Parapseudoleptomesochra minoricae (Chappuis & Rouch 1959) Sa
Parapseudoleptomesochra subterranea (Chappuis 1928) Sa *
* Pesce & Maggi (1983) reported a Nitocrella cf. subterranea from Sardinia, which could be Parapseudoleptomesochra subterranea
[MAP OF DISTRIBUTION OF PARAPSEUDOLEPTOMESOCHRA SPECIES IN ITALY]
Family Paramesochridae Lang, 1944
Genus Paramesochra T. Scott, 1892
Paramesochra brevifurca Galhano, 1970
Paramesochra brevifurca Galhano, 1970 b. mediterranea Huys, 1987 3
Paramesochra coelebs (Monard, 1935) 3 [questionable species]
Genus Apodopsyllus Kunz, 1962
Apodopsyllus lynceorum Cottarelli, 1971 3
Genus Stenocopia Sars, 1907
Stenocopia sp. S (Capolongo et al., 1974) (NEW ENTRY)
Genus Kliopsyllus Kunz, 1962
Kliopsyllus minutus Masry, 1970 3
Kliopsyllus masryi Bodin, 1979 (3)
| UPDATE CHECKLIST OF ITALIAN HARPACTICOIDS | [PDF]
| UPDATED JANUARY 01. 2013 |
Copyright © 1999-2013 G.L.Pesce
Email: luciopesce@virgilio.it |
| Best viewed with Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator (4.0 or higher)
|
 |
[Previous Page] [HomePage]
|
|
