Proceedings of 
the United States 
National Museum 
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION - WASHINGTON, D.C. 
Volume 113 1962 Number 3458 
TWO NEW SPECIES OF PARASTENOCARIS (COPEPODA: 
HARPACTICOIDEA) FROM SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL 
By Hans Jakosi AND JAYME DE Loyola E SILVA 
Introduction 
Although subterranean waters are widespread, the study of their 
inhabitants (troglobiotic fauna) has been carried out only to a limited 
extent because of sampling difficulties. Collections from holes, caves, 
wells, and aqueducts give an indirect and incomplete view of the 
subterranean microfauna. Recent studies have shown that for an 
adequate picture we must investigate directly the less accessible 
subterranean interstitial systems (‘‘Liickensysteme’’) formed by 
earth clefts, cracks, fissures, and sand gaps (Jakobi, 1951). 
As a result of selection, troglobiotic species are highly modified and 
adapted to their environment. Such characters as small size, slender 
body, reduced limbs, and specialized modes of feeding and reproduction 
fit them for existence in the limited spaces of the interstitial habitat. 
Two groups with great plasticity, the Nematoda and the Copepoda, 
contain the greatest number of troglobiotic species. 
Among the subterranean Copepoda, the highly specialized Para- 
stenocaridae are of special interest because of their geographical 
distribution, their division into numerous species, the high degree of 
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