Morphological characterization of new populations of the copepod Eurytemora velox (Lilljeborg, 1853) (Calanoida,Temoridae) found in Austria and Hungary

The calanoid copepod Eurytemora velox (Lilljeborg, 1853) was found in the backwater system of the Danube River upstream of Vienna (km 1948) in 1994. Since that time, the species has invaded the side arms of the river between kms 1897 and 1988, as confirmed by findings from 10 different localities. In Hungary, the species has been known since 1992. In the present article, we report 15 new sites in the westernmost part of this country.A brief diagnosis of the morphology of male and female of the Austrian specimens is presented, including detailed illustrations of the structures used in this paper for taxonomic analysis. Females show morphological variability mainly on the structure of the fifth leg pair. Right and left legs frequently have a different spinulation pattern. Males show less morphological variability, particularly in the structure of the basis and the distal section of exopod 2 of the fifth left leg. Morphological variation within E. veloxwas determined by comparing specimens from Austria, Hungary and Rumania. The geographic distribution of the species in the Palearctic region, Austria and Hungary is presented.