Paracyclops fiersi sp. nov. (Copepoda, Cyclopoida, Cyclopidae), a new freshwater cyclopoid from north-western Mexico

What is it about?

Several individuals of free-living copepods were found during the processing and sieving of some deep-sea sediment samples. These copepods were found to be present in tap water in my lab. Upon careful inspection, these specimens turned out to belong to a new species of the freshwater genus Paracyclops. The occurrence of freshwater copepods in artificial containers is not uncommon, but this species is the fourth confirmed species of Paracyclops in Mexico, and is probably distributed in southern state of Sinaloa in north-western Mexico. A complete and detailed description of the species is given, and some comments on its most closely related congeners is provided.

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