Study On The Taxonomy Of Benthic Copepods In The China Seas

Benthic copepods are mainly harpacticoid copepods. Harpactiocoida belongs to Phylum Artheropoda, Subphylum Crustacea, Order Maxillopoda, suborder Copepoda (Martin & Davis, 2001). Harpacticoid copepods are small, predominantly less than 1 mm long, and inhabit all kinds of marine sediments. They are usually the second most abundant metazoan taxon after free-living nematods in marine sediment(Mu, 2000). Observation the shapes of habitus and appendages is necessary for the identification of benthic copepods, however, the tiny body size of these animals and the disputed systematics of Harpacticoida make the identification of harpactiocoid copepods very difficult. The benthic copepods of the China seas have been poorly investigated, except Bohai Sea, the benthic copepods from other seas have not been researched. The importance of benthic copepods in the marine sediment and marine ecosystem needs a comprehensive investigation of benthic copepods from the China seas.After extraction and dissection, 12 families, 19 genera and 24 species of harpacticoid copepods were identified from four cruises'samples, including one new genus, 17 new species and one genus, two species which were reported from China seas for the first time.After observed and identified under optic microscopy, based on a lot of correlated literature, this thesis deals with a comprehensive research of taxonomy of benthic copepods from China waters. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided and list to 24 checked harpacticoid copepods.The thesis can provide literature for further study benthic copepods, marine biodiversity and ecology of meiofauna of China seas.All species researched in this study are listed as follows: those with one asterisk""recorded for the first time from Chinese waters, those with""are new species.Harpacticoida Sars, 1903: Family Longipediidae Boeck, 1865Genus Longipedia Claus, 1863Longipedia oligospina sp. nov.Longipedia fortichaeta sp. nov.Longipedia wangi sp. nov.Longipedia polyspinosa sp. nov.Family Canuellidae Lang, 1944Genus Scottolana Por, 1967Scottolana bulbifera (Chislenko, 1971)Family Ameiridae Boeck, 1865Genus Ameira Boeck, 1865Ameira parvula (Claus, 1866)Genus Nitocra Boeck, 1865Nitocra paraarctolonga sp. nov.Family Argestidae Por, 1986Genus Eurycletodes Sars, 1909subgenus Oligocletodes Lang, 1944Eurycletodes oligopoditus sp. nov.Family Cletodidae T. Scott, 1905Genus Enhydrosoma Boeck, 1873 Enhydrosoma spinosa sp. novFamily Ectinosomatidae Sars, 1903Genus Halectinosoma Lang, 1944Halectinosoma daiae sp. nov.Family Miraciidae Dana, 1846Genus Amphiascus Sars, 1905Amphiascus rizhaoensis sp. nov.Genus Bulbamphiascus Lang, 1944Bulbamphiascus plumosus Mu & Gee, 2000Genus Delavalia Brady, 1869Delavalia qingdaoensis sp. nov.Delavalia dahmsi sp. nov.Delavalia mirabilis sp. nov.Genus Onychostenhelia It?, 1979Onychostenhelia bispinosa Huys & Mu, 2008Genus Rhyncholagena Lang, 1944Rhyncholagena paraspinifer sp. nov.Genus Sinamphiascus Mu & Gee, 2000Sinamphiascus dominatus Mu & Gee, 2000Genus Typhlamphiascus Lang, 1944 Typhlamphiascus muae sp. nov.Family Pseudotachidiidae Lang, 1936Genus Danielssenia Boeck, 1873Danielssenia typica Boeck, 1873Family Tachidiidae Boeck, 1865Genus Pseudomicroarthridion gen. nov.Pseudomicroarthridion bisegmentum sp. nov.Family TetragonicipitidaeGenus Phyllopodopsyllus T. Scott, 1906Phyllopodopsyllus setouchiensis Kitazima, 1981Family Tisbidae Stebbing, 1910Genus Tisbe Lilljeborg, 1853Tisbe sheni sp. nov.Family Zosimidae Seifried, 2003Genus Zosime Boeck, 1873Zosime sinensis sp. nov.