A new species of Monstrilla (Copepoda, Monstrilloida) from the plankton of a large coastal system of the northwestern Caribbean with a key to species

Abstract

The genus Monstrilla Dana, 1849 is the most diverse of the copepod order Monstrilloida. Monstrilloid copepods are endoparasites of benthic polychaetes and molluscs; adult individuals are free-living, non-feeding reproductive forms that briefly become part of the zooplankton community, where they are occasionally captured by plankton nets. Monstrilloid copepods are frequently found during routine plankton samplings of coastal and estuarine habitats, but they are rarely found in large numbers. The western sector of the Caribbean Sea is known to harbor a diverse monstrilloid fauna. The analysis of zooplankton samples obtained during nine years from Chetumal Bay, a large embayment of the Mexican Caribbean coast, yielded a male monstrilloid that was found to represent a new species. It is herein described following upgraded standards and compared with its congeners. A key to males and females of the Monstrilla species known from the northwestern Caribbean is also provided.