Revision and update of the checklist of copepods (Crustacea: Hexanauplia) of the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

The aim of the study was to obtain a revised and updated checklist of the species of copepods of the Colombian Caribbean. Methods for updating included a critical compilation of records in published and unpublished articles, and our own results of a study of zooplankton in a project on bioinvasions of coastal waters, conducted in 2010. Twenty taxa reported solely in undergraduate thesisneed taxonomical comprobation and were excluded from the inventory. As a baseline, we used the most recent inventory published by Medellín-Mora and Navas (2010). Ten species recorded in the already mentioned project are new records. Thirteen species reported by other researchers in publications after 2010 increased the species list. The inventory totals 214 species of copepods (158 Calanoida, 38Cyclopoida, 15 Harpacticoida, 2 Mormonilloida and 1 Monstrilloida). Most species are planktonic (201), while only a few are benthic (10) or epibenthic (3). Nomenclature of the taxa was revised and updated as well. The highest copepod diversity corresponds to the ecoregion Colombian Oceanic (127 species), followed by Tayrona (94), Magdalena (82) and Morrosquillo (78). The lowest number corresponds to San Andrés and Providencia Archipelago (49). The limited information existing about benthic and parasitic copepods warrants an increment on the study these groups. Most of them belong to orders Harpacticoida and Siphonostomatoida.

Copépodos planctónicos del Caribe nororiental y Atlántico venezolano

“…The closest area where this species has been found is southern Brazil. On the other hand, P. tonsa was captured between 75 and 100 m deep during the upwelling season, and it has been reported for the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica (Morales-Ramírez and Suárez-Morales, 2008) and the Colombian Caribbean (Medellín-Mora and Navas, 2010; Gaviria et al, 2019).…”

“…El área más cercana donde se ha encontrado esta especie es el sur de Brasil. Por su parte, P. tonsa fue capturada entre 75-100 m de profundidad, en la época de surgencia; ha sido citada para la costa caribeña de Costa Rica (Morales-Ramírez y Suárez-Morales, 2008) y el Caribe colombiano (Medellín-Mora y Navas, 2010; Gaviria et al, 2019).…”

“…El número total de especies en el Caribe nororiental y Atlántico venezolano representa un poco menos de 50 % de la diversidad de copépodos conocidos en el Gran Caribe. Para el mar Caribe se citan 468 especies (Medellín-Mora y Navas, 2010) y para el sector suroriental, que forma parte del Caribe colombiano, registraron 214 especies (Gaviria et al, 2019) y recientemente aumentó la lista a 247 (Dorado-Roncancio et al, 2021). El número de especies registradas en este inventario es similar que en otras áreas del Caribe; en aguas mexicanas el número total de especies conocidas es de 223 (Suárez- Morales y Gasca, 1998;Hernández-Trujillo y Esqueda-Escárcega, 2002).…”

“…The total number of species in the northeastern Caribbean and the Venezuelan Atlantic represents slightly less than 50% of the known copepod diversity in the Greater Caribbean. For the Caribbean Sea, 468 species are reported (Medellín-Mora and Navas, 2010), and, for the southeastern sector, which is part of the Colombian Caribbean, 214 species have been recorded (Gaviria et al, 2019), which recently increased to 247 (Dorado-Roncancio et al, 2021). The number of species recorded in this inventory is similar to that in other Caribbean areas, e.g., in Mexican waters, the total known species number is 223 (Suárez- Morales and Gasca, 1998;Hernández-Trujillo and Esqueda-Escárcega, 2002).…”

Pelagic copepod diversity (Crustacea: Copepoda) in the southern Caribbean: evidence of a pending assignment

“…The copepod species richness found differs numerically from similar inventories conducted in other ecoregions of the TNWA province. For example, 216 species have been recorded in Florida and adjacent waters (Owre & Foyo, 1967), 201 in the Western Caribbean (Mexican Caribbean) , and 247 in the Southwestern Caribbean (Colombian Caribbean), as reported by Medellín-Mora and Navas (2010), and subsequently updated by Gaviria et al (2019) and Dorado-Roncancio et al (2021). For the Gulf of Mexico, the 335 species reported represent a value close to that found here and as expected, the species composition between these ecoregions have similarities (Campos-Hernández & Suárez-Morales, 1994;Suárez-Morales et al, 2009).…”