The karyotype in an antarctic harpacticoid copepod: Dactylopodia sp.

Summary On the basis of more than 100 observations of mitotic chromosomes of cleaving eggs, it was ascertained that the diploid number of Dactylopodia sp. is 2n = 24 elements. The karyotype is characterized by six metacentric and six sub-metacentric pairs of chromosomes; a satellile is frequently present in one of the largest submetacentric pairs. The great stability of chromosome number in harpacticoid copepods is confirmed by these results.