A new species of the genus Stylicletodes Lang, 1936 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Cletodidae) in the Yellow Sea

Abstract

The genus Stylicletodes was established by Lang (1936) who recognized morphological differences of Cletodes leptostylis Sars, 1920 and C. numidicus Mornard, 1935 from the other Cletodes species, based on the length ratios of exopod segments on P1–P4 and the unique shape of P5. Later, Cletodes longicaudatus Brady, 1880 was restored as a type species, Stylicletodes longicaudatus (Brady, 1880), of the genus Stylicletodes by the same author, S. leptostylis (Sars, 1920) and S. numidicus (Mornard, 1935) has been the synonym for it (Lang 1948, 1965). Since then four species were added to this genus: S. verisimilis Lang, 1965, S. reductus Wells, 1965, S. oligichaeta Bodin, 1968, and S. minutus Bodin, 1968 (Wells 2007). Cletodes stylicaudatus Willey, 1935 based on a male specimen has been reported by Willey in 1935. This species was transferred to the genus Enhydrosoma Boeck, 1872 by Lang (1936), but Fiers (1996) lastly relocated it into the genus Stylicletodes. Recently, a new species, S. wellsi Ma, Liu, Li, & Huys, 2021 described from Yellow Sea ?, was added in this year. Therefore, at present, the genus Stylicletodes contains 7 valid species (Wells, 2007; Ma et al. 2021): S. longicaudatus (Brady, 1880), S. stylicaudatus (Willey, 1935), S. verisimilis, S. reductus, S. oligichaeta, S. minutus and S. wellsi Ma et al. 2021. A new species of Stylicletodes was collected from the Yellow Sea of Korea. The present study provides morphological characters of this species and differences from the recorded species of Stylicletodes.