Diacyclops puuc

Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Copepoda
Order Cyclopoida
Family Cyclopidae

Diacyclops puuc Fiers, 1996

Taxonomic Characterization: Antennule 11-segmented, without indications of vestigial articulations. Body with rounded pleurotergite, not posteriorly produced, of pedigerous somite 5. Caudal rami 2.55 times as long as wide. Short medial spine on leg 1. Spinule ornamentation on the caudal side of the basipodite consists of three well-developed rows (Fiers et al., 1996).

Disposition of Specimens: Invertebrate Collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, catalog number COP 3919.

Ecological Classification: Stygobitic

Size: This female measured 0.812 mm

Number of Species in Genus: More than 100.

Genus Range: This genus has a worldwide distribution.

Yucatan Peninsula: D. chakan Fiers & Reid, 1996; D. puuc Fiers, 1996 and D. bernardi (Petkovski, 1986) reported in Reid, 1993

Species Range: Found only in Cenote Hubicu, Temozon, Yucatan, Mexico.

Closest Related Species: D. chakan Fiers & Reid, 1996

Habitat: Anchialine limestone caves

Ecology: Benthic crevicular species. Collected in depths between 1 and 15 meters, close to the cave walls. Additional fauna includes calanoid copepods and ostracods.

Life History: Only a single female has been collected.

Evolutionary Origins: The reduced antennule supports and hypothesis that Diacyclops are derived from some benthic ancestor resembling D. bernardi and D. hispidus Reid, 1988. However, two arguments indicate that D. chakan and D. puuc may share a common ancestor with a planktonic species. First, it is thought that the 11-segmented antennule was derived directly from a 16 or 17-segmented antennule. The second indication may be the relatively long antennule of both species, which reaches the middle of the second thoracic somite (Fiers et al., 1996).

Conservation Status: Restricted to a single cave in Yucatan.

References:

Fiers, F., J.W. Reid, T.M. Iliffe and E. Suárez-Morales. 1996. New hypogean cyclopoid copepods (Crustacea) from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Contributions to Zoology, 66(2):65-102, 21 figures, 1 table.
Reid, J.W. 1988. Cyclopoid and harpacticoid copepods (Crustacea) from Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 107:190-202.
Reid, J.W. 1993. New records and redescriptions of American species of Mesocyclops and of Diacyclops bernardi (Petkovski, 1986) (Copepoda: Cyclopoida). Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 63(3):173-191.