Redescription of Acartia (Acanthacartia) italica Steuer, 1910 (Copepoda, Calanoida), and description of the developmental stages from the small saline Lake Rogoznica, Adriatic Sea

Abstract

In Lake Rogoznica, a small saline and eutrophic lake on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, the copepod Acartia (Acanthacartia) italica Steuer, 1910 is common, occasionally as an extremely dense population. This phenomenon provided an opportunity for a redescription of the adults and for description of the developmental stages. The segmentation and setation patterns of the antennules, antennae and mandibles of A. italica are analysed in detail through the naupliar and copepodid phases and the other limbs are analysed through the copepodid phase. In addition, wider comparisons are made with available data for other species of the subgenus Acanthacartia Steuer, 1915.