The microcopepod fauna in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea: species diversity and distribution of Oncaeidae (Poecilostomatoida)

A total of 23 species and three groups of form variants of oncaeidcopepods have been identified, which were collected in smallmesh net samples taken along a transect from the northernmostRed Sea (>27°N) to the Gulf of Aqaba down to a maximumdepth of 800 m. Two of the species were present only in theRed Sea main basin, but were not recorded in the Gulf. By comparingthe present results with previously published data from thecentral and southern Red Sea a first assessment of the zoogeographicaldistribution of Oncaeidae in the entire Red Sea has been achieved.The species diversity of Oncaeidae in the Gulf of Aqaba appearsto be considerably lower compared to the southern Red Sea, where31 oncaeid species and four groups of form variants have beenfound. The observed latitudinal gradient in species numbersof Oncaeidae generally corresponds to the gradients observedfor various other zooplankton taxa in the Red Sea. First dataon the vertical distribution of oncaeid species in the Gulfare provided.     

Taxonomy of Oncaeidae (Copepoda, Poecilostomatoida) from the Red Sea. VI. Morphology and zoogeography ofOncaea bispinosa sp. nov., a sistertaxon of O. zernovi Shmeleva

A new small species of oncaeid copepods, Oncaea bispinosa, isdescribed from the Red Sea. It is closely related to O. zernoviShmeleva, which is known from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.The two species can be separated mainly by the outer spine counton the distal exopod segment of the second swimming leg, whichshows two spines in O. bispinosa, but three spines in O. zernovi.A neotype of O. zernovi, for which type material is no longerextant, was designated. Oncaea tenella sensu Malt et al. andO. tenella var. pacifica Olson are regarded as junior subjectivesynonyms of O. zernovi. First data on the zoogeographical distributionof the two species, which seem to be geographically separated,are provided by examination of material from the northeasternAtlantic, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. The ecological importanceof species of the zernovi-type, which appear to be one of themost numerous microcopepod species in tropical/subtropical areas,is emphasized.     

Taxonomy of Oncaeidae (Copepoda, Poecilostomatoida) from the Red Sea. VI. Morphology and zoogeography of Oncaea bispinosa sp. nov., a sistertaxon of O. zernovi Shmeleva

The Author would like to apologize for the following errorswhich appear in     

Two new Oncaea species (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida) from the Red Sea

Two new Oncaea species, O.umerus and O.hawii, are describedfrom females taken in the central Red Sea. They are closelyrelated to each other and to a group of Oncaea similis-likespecies, whose morphological characteristics are reviewed forcomparison.