A new species of Tetragoniceps Brady, 1880 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Tetragonicipitidae) from an anchialine cave in Bermuda, with an updated key to the species of the genus

By

Mussini, Giovanni
Niimi, Yuuki J.
Khodami, Sahar
Kihara, Terue C.
Martínez Arbizu, Pedro
Blanco-Bercial, Leocadio

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-5-20

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1239

Pages

1--19

Subjects

Bermuda , Cave fauna , copepods , Crustacea , endemism

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1239.144436

 

Abstract

Tetragoniceps bermudensissp. nov. (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Tetragonicipitidae) is described based on an ovigerous female collected from Roadside Cave, a tidally influenced anchialine cavern in Bermuda. The new taxon represents the 16th recorded species of Tetragoniceps Brady, 1880. It can be distinguished from congeneric species by the length:width ratio of the caudal rami (approximately 10 times longer than wide), its cephalothorax with a smooth dorsal surface, and the diagnostic setal formula of its pereiopods 1–5. Tetragoniceps bermudensissp. nov. is the first record of Tetragoniceps from Bermuda and the first known anchialine species in the genus globally. Based on our description of the new species, we provide a revised key to the species of Tetragoniceps. In addition, we include an updated table of salient morphological characters for the females of the genus, providing grounds for a preliminary analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of its constituent species.