Haploops antarctica n. sp. (Crustacea: Gammaridea: Ampeliscidae): the first species of the genus Haploops from the Southern Antarctic Ocean

Abstract

Haploops antarctica n. sp. is described based on an female adult collected in the Antarctic peninsula (Bellingshausen Sea). This is the first species in the genus Haploops, which is a genus of generally deep boreal amphipods, to be found in the Southern Antarctic Ocean. Morphological characteristics that distinguish this new species from its congeners are the antenna formula A1>pedA2, the A1 and A2 < body length, the lobe of pereopod 7 expanded and densely setose, and the presence of one apical spine and one seta on the telson. In this paper, the new species is fully described and compared with related species; the relationship between H. antarctica and the geographical distribution of the genus is discussed; and a complete key of the 18 valid species in the genus Haploops is given.