Sars, 1905
Short Description:
Pseudochirella pustulifera is an aetideid calanoid copepod known after both sexes (female 6.60-7.40 mm and male 6.20-6.50 mm in length) from antarctic, subantarctic, boreal and subtropical zones of the World Ocean, of mostly meso-bathypelagic.
Taxonomic Description:
Female. Total length 6.60-7.40 mm. Cephalothorax 4.0-4.6 times longer than abdomen. Th5 posterior corners symmetrical, rounded. Genital segment asymmetrical, projection on the right side is more prominent than on the left, they are arranged in the midlength of segment (dorsal view). Shape of projections variable. A1 as long as body. Re1 A2 with small seta arranged on the small knob, Re2 A2 with 1 seta distally. Ri1 A2 with 1 seta. Ri1 Md with 2, Ri2 Md with 9 terminal and 2 posterior setae. Mx1 second internal lobe with 4 setae and appendage. Mx2, Mxp typical of the genus. Re P1 3-segmented. Separation between Re1 and Re2 P1 incomplete. Separation of Ri P2 segments also indistinct. P4 coxopodite with 6-9 spines (after With (1915) with 11 spines).
Male. Total length 6.20-6.50 mm. Cephalothorax about 3 times longer than abdomen. Cephalon and Th1, as well as Th4-Th5 fused. Th5 Posterior corners rounded, spines absent. Oral parts in comparison with that in female reduced. A1 reaching the distal end of Abd3. Re P1 3-segmented, spine on Re1 P1 exceeding the midlength of Re2 P1 (after Park (1978) it is significantly shorter). P4 coxopodite lacking setae and spines. Left Re2 P5 with 2 teeth in distal part of segment.
Vertical distribution:
Bathy-mesopelagic species, found in hauls in meso- (Ferrari, 1980) and bathypelagic (Deevey and Brooks, 1977; Ferrari, 1980) and meso-bathypelagic (Grice and Hulsemann, 1967), recorded once in epipelagic (Park, 1978). Found in total hauls from depths 1000 to 5700 m (Sars, 1925; Markhaseva, 1996).
Geographical distribution:
Species may be characterized as antitropical; found in antarctic, subantarctic, boreal and also subtropical zones of the World Ocean, but is not recorded for tropics. Species is common in the boreal Atlantic (Farran, 1908; With, 1915; Sars, 1925; Jespersen, 1934; Deevey and Brooks, 1977; Ferrari, 1980) and south-eastern part of the Pacific Ocean (Grice and Hulsemann, 1968; Bjornberg, 1973), the northernmost finding: in the Norwegian Sea (Østvedt, 1955).
Type locality: North Atlantic (Sars, 1925).
Material examined:
16 females and 1 male from samples: 267, 271, 300, 302, 314, 336, 348, 376, 447. See examined samples module.