Vol. 46 No. 6, 2007

Naupliar Development of Tigriopus japonicus Mori, 1932 (Copepoda: Harpacticidae)

Hans U. Dahms¹, Supawadee Chullasorn², Pawana Kangtia², Frank D. Ferrari³, and Jiang-Shiou Hwang^1,*

¹Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), Keelung 202, Taiwan
²Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok 10240, Thailand
³Smithsonian Institution, IZ, MSC, MRC-534, Washington DC 20560-0544, USA

Frank Y.T. Sin, Maxine J. Bryant, and Alice Johnstone (2007) Six naupliar stages of Tigriopus japonicus Mori, 1932 are described from the rocky coast off Keelung, northeastern Taiwan. A key for the identification of stages is provided. Naupliar morphology within the Harpacticidae differs among species and even more at the supraspecific level. The present study on nauplii of Tigriopus japonicus confirms the observation that representatives of the Tachidiidae and Harpacticidae (Copepoda-Harpacticoida) show a peculiar reduction of the oral structures from N V to N VI. The nauplii of the Harpacticidae are creeping larvae, and many are not able to swim; however, nauplii of T. japonicus are an exception to this rule.

Key words: Naupliar development, Larval stages, Identification key, Evolution.

*Correspondence: Tel: 886-935-289642. Fax: 886-2-24629464. E-mail:Jshwang@mail.ntou.edu.tw