Wolfenden, 1911
Short Description:
Euchirella similis is an aetideid calanoid copepod known after female (4.00-5.41 mm in length) from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, mainly mesopelagic.
Taxonomic Description:
Female. Total length 4.00-5.41 mm. Cephalothorax about 4 times longer than abdomen. Rostrum comparatively small. Crest absent. Posterior Th5 corners rounded. Genital segment abruptly asymmetrical with large "ear-like" projection on the right. A1 reaching the Abd4. Ri A2 about one fourth of Re length, on internal lobe of Ri2 A2 4 setae, on external 5 setae; coxo-, basipodite and Ri1 A2 with 1 seta each. Mx1 gnathobase with 13 setae. Second and third internal lobes with 4 and 3 setae respectively, 3 setae on protopodite near the Ri base, 4 setae on Ri, 11 on Re and 8 on external lobe. Mx2, Mxp and P1-P4 typical of the genus. P4 coxopodite with 2-3 spines.
? Male. (Body was damaged its size is unknown). In the same sample with females a male was found, but its status is doubtful. As E. similis male is so far unknown, there is high probability that the present male belongs to this species.
Vertical distribution:
The species was usually recorded in hauls from depth about 1000 m (Park, 1978; Bradford and Jillett, 1980), was found from 500 m (Markhaseva, 1996).
Geographical distribution:
The species was found in the Atlantic and Indian oceans (Wolfenden, 1911; Von Vaupel Klein, 1984), in the south-western (Vervoort, 1957; Bradford and Jillett, 1980) and the south-eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean (Grice and Hulsemann, 1968; Bjornberg, 1973; Markhaseva, 1996). In Antarctic: region of 54°S 11°9W (Park, 1978).
Type locality: the Atlantic Ocean between 17°28'N and 35°39'S (Wolfenden, 1911).
Material examined:
1 female and 1 male from sample 449. See examined samples module.