Monstrilla

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...

This work seeks to expose and clear up nomenclatural irregularities involving copepods of the order Monstrilloida, family Monstrillidae. The diagnostic text related to Monstrilla minuta Isaac, 1974 and four nominal species of Thaumaleus Krøyer, 1849 (now Cymbasoma Thompson, 1888) proposed by Isaac in 1974 is sufficient for all names to be available from their original description except for Thaumaleus similirostratus, which was proposed conditionally in 1974 and was first made available by Isaac in 1975; "similirostris" as used by Grygier in 1995 is an incorrect subsequent spelling...

A new species of monstrilloid copepod belonging to the genus Monstrilla Dana, 1849 is recorded from South Korea. Specimens were obtained between May of 2012 and January of 2014 from inshore waters along the coasts of the East Sea, South Sea, and Jeju Island, using a light trap installed at quays and wharves overnight. Monstrilla ilhoii sp. nov. is characterized by a remarkable combination of a large body size (females about 3.8 mm long, males about 2.8 mm long), a polygonal ridge pattern (cuticular reticulation) over the entire body surface, and an antennule armature featuring a supernumerary spiniform seta (4d₃) in females and a dagger-shaped distal spine (6₂) in both sexes...

Monstrilloid copepods were collected during zooplankton surveys in reef and coastal areas of Australia. Representatives of all four genera of the Monstrilloida (Monstrilla Dana, Monstrillopsis Sars, Cymbasoma Thompson, and Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka) were recorded. In this contribution a taxonomic analysis of specimens belonging to the latter two genera is provided, and a new genus described. The genus Monstrillopsis was represented exclusively by male specimens, on the basis of which three new species are described: Mon...