A new species of Parastenocaris from Korea, With a description of the closely related P. biwae from Japan (Copepoda: Harpacticoida: Parastenocarididae)

Abstract

Parastenocaris koreana sp. nov. is described based on examination of numerous adult specimens of both sexes from several localities in Korea. Scanning electron micrographs are used to examine intra- and interpopulation variability of micro-characters, in addition to light microscopy. The new species is most closely related to the Japanese P. biwae Miura, 1969, which we redescribe based on newly collected material from the Lake Biwa drainage area. The two species differ in size, relative length of the caudal rami, shape of the anal operculum, shape of the genital double somite, relative length of the inner distal process on the female fifth leg, as well as relative length of the apical setae on the second, third, and fourth legs exopods in both sexes. Detailed examinations of three disjunct populations of P. koreana reveal also some geographical variation, especially in the surface ornamentation of somites, which may indicate some population structuring or even cryptic speciation. Lack of intraspecific variability in the number and position of sensilla on somites, as well as their potential phylogenetic significance, is a novel discovery. Both species examined here belong to the brevipes group, which we redefine to include 20 species from India (including Sri Lanka), Australia, East Asia, Northern Europe, and North America. A key to species of this group is also provided. In order to test the monophyly of the redefined brevipes group with highly disjunct distribution, as well as relationship between different species, a cladistics analysis is performed based on 39 morphological characters and with help of three outgroup taxa. Six equally parsimonious cladograms are generated, all of which show that the ingroup is well defined by at least three synapomorphies. Reconstructed phylogeny questions the previously suggested hypothesis about the origin of this group in South East Asia, with one Australian species showing the most basal position. We speculate that the present distribution of this group may be a combination of ancient vicariance and subsequent dispersal, with a possible origin in the Gondwanaland, in the rift valley between Australia and India.