© The Author, 2014. Journal compilation © Australian Museum, Sydney, 2014 
Records of the Australian Museum (2014) Vol. 66, issue number 2, pp. 63—110. 
ISSN 0067-1975 (print), ISSN 2201-4349 (online) 
http://dx.doi.org/! 0.3853/j .2201 -4349.66.2014.1594 
Porcellidiidae of Australia (Harpacticoida, Copepoda). 
I. A Reassessment of the 
European Species of Porcellidium 
Vernon A. Harris 
138/99 Doolong Road, Kawungan Queensland 4655, Australia 
vaharris@bigpond.com 
Abstract. A new species, Porcellidium rastellum , is described from NSW bringing the total number 
of species in that genus for Australia to seven. Unlike other Australian genera in the Porcellidiidae, 
Porcellidium Claus, 1860 is ill defined. Porcellidium viride (Philippi, 1840) is considered the type species 
to the genus, but it has never been adequately characterized. This has led to considerable disagreement on 
the characters that define the genus. Porcellidium viride can be identified from a species specific character 
shown by Brady’s (1880) drawing of the male antennules. Another species, Porcellidium fimbriatum 
Claus, 1863, can also be identified by species specific characters shown in the more complete description 
by Claus (1889). This enables new specimens of these two species to be identified with a high degree of 
certainty. In the present study, specimens collected from Oban, Scotland, identified as P. viride and P. 
fimbriatum , have been used to redescribe both species in detail and select species specific characters for a 
diagnosis of each species. A new diagnosis for the genus Porcellidium is given, based on the characters of 
P. viride. Extensive enquiry suggests that Philippi’s and Claus’ type material is lost. To ensure taxonomic 
stability of the genus Porcellidium, a neotype of P. viride is designated. From this study it is shown that P. 
lecanoides Claus, 1889 and P. sarsi Bocquet, 1948 are junior synonyms for P. viride. The new diagnosis 
for Porcellidium excludes many of the species originally placed in that genus. Porcellidium tenuicauda 
Claus, 1860 and P. scutatum Claus, 1889 are examples of species that possess apomorphic characters 
excluding them from Porcellidium sensu stricto. A new genus, Porcelloides gen. nov. is proposed to take 
Claus’ two species, as Porcelloides tenuicaudus (Claus, 1860) comb, nov., and Porcelloides scutatus 
(Claus, 1889) comb. nov. Keys to the known species of Porcellidium and Porcelloides are given. 
Keywords: Porcellidiidae, Porcellidium , Porcelloides. 
Harris, Vernon A. 2014. Porcellidiidae of Australia (Harpacticoida, Copepoda). I. A reassessment of the European 
species of Porcellidium. Records of the Australian Museum 66(2): 63-110. 
Considerable progress has been made in our understanding 
of the family Porcellidiidae from recent studies on the fauna 
of the West Pacific Ocean. The works of Gamo (1969), 
Ho (1986), S. Kim & W. Kim (1996), Harris & Iwasaki 
(1996a,b), Il-H. Kim & H.-S. Kim, (1997) and Harris & 
Iwasaki (1997,2009) have described in detail 17 new species 
from Japan and Korea while another 23 new species have 
been described from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia, 
