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UTAS Home > IMAS Home > Image Key > Copepoda > Calanoida > Centropagidae >  Centropages elegans

Centropages elegans

Giesbrecht (1895)

Dowlnoad a fact sheet for Centropages elegans (PDF 459KB)

Taxonomy

Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Maxillopoda
Subclass Copepoda
Order Calanoida
Family Centropagidae
Genus Centropages
Species elegans

Size

  • Female: 1.86 ¨C 2.14 mm
  • Male: 1.84 ¨C 2.05 mm

Distinguishing characteristics

  • P5 form
  • Female: knoblike protrusion at anterior prosome and semicircle projection on dorsal cephalosome

Male

  • Cephalosome and prosome somite 1 incompletely separated
  • Left A1 extends past caudal rami by last 2 segments
  • Right A1 geniculate at segments 18 & 19, acute teeth on segments 17 ¨C 19
  • P5 right exopod, segment 2 extends internally into a long bluntly rounded extension, exopod segment 3 in the form of a much longer tapering spine.
  • P5 left exopod, 2 segmented, exopod segments 2 & 3 bearing 2 spines which do not taper much and densely pitted tips

Female

  • Cephalosome and prosome somite 1 incompletely separated
  • A1 extends beyond caudal rami by last 5 segments
  • Posterior margins of prosome rounded
  • P5 exopod segment 1 has a round projection on inner margin, exopod segment 2 with a strong spiniform projection directed distally, with distal inner margin hairs
  • Genital somite symmetrical, wider than long with a posterodorsal row of spinules
  • Urosome somite 2 has a ventral knoblike projection and 2 posterodorsal rows of spinules
  • Caudal rami long and symmetrical

Distribution

  • Epipelagic
  • Coastal
  • Tropical
  • Pacific Ocean

Ecology

  • Little is known about the ecology of this species

References

  • Boxshall, G. A. and S. H. Halsey (2004). "An introduction to copepod diversity." Ray Society Publications 166: i-xv, 1-966.
  • Bradford-Grieve, J. M., (1999). The marine fauna of New Zealand: pelagic calanoid copepoda: Bathypontiidae, Arietellidae, Augaptilidae, Heterorhabdidae, Lucicutiidae, Metridinidae, Phyllopodidae, Centropagidae, Pseudodiaptomidae, Temoridae, Candaciidae, Pontellidae, Sulcanidae, Acartiidae, Tortanidae. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand.
  • Conway DVP, White, R.G., Hugues-Dit-Ciles, J., Gallienne, C.P. and Robins, D.B. (2003). Guide to the coastal and surface zooplankton of the south-western Indian Ocean, Vol Occasional Publications No. 15. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
  • Park T.S., (1968). Calanoid copepods from the Central North Pacific Ocean. Fishery Bull. Fish Wildl. Serv. U.S., 66 (3): 527-572.
  • Razouls C., de Bovée F., Kouwenberg J. et Desreumaux N., 2005-2009. Diversity and Geographic Distribution of Marine Planktonic Copepods. Available at http://copepodes.obs-banyuls.fr/en