ZooKeys 5: 33-40, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.5.64
On the junior subjective synonyms of Coullia Hamond, 1973 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Laophontidae): an and key to species and related genera
Rony Huys
Abstract

Morphological comparison of the genera Coullia Hamond, 1973 and Phycolaophonte Pallares, 1975 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Laophontidae) shows that the latter should be relegated to a junior synonym of the former. The forgotten generic name Eolaophonte Apostolov, 1990, introduced for two species displaying the plesiomorphic condition of P2–P4 endopodal segmentation, is also considered synonymous with Coullia since the taxon it denotes lacks a distinct apomorphy, rendering it paraphyletic exclusive of Coullia. Pesta’s (1959) record of Laophonte sp. from Sorrento (Italy) pertains to Coullia mediterranea (Apostolov, 1990) comb. nov. Keys to the six species currently included in Coullia and to the laophontid genera displaying endopodal size discrepancy (P2 endopod smallest) are presented.