Parasitic copepods in ascidians from the LAMPOS Expedition

VEIT-KÖHLER, GRITTA; TATIÁN, MARCOS

Curitiba, Brasil

Simposio; IX SCAR Biology Symposium; 2005

In 2002 the expedition ANT XIX/5 (Latin American „Polarstern“ Study - LAMPOS) of RV "Polarstern" was realized in order to investigate whether the Scotia Arc was a transitory area for the fauna between the Magellan and the Antarctic regions. Biogeographical studies on ascidians revealed a parasitic copepod from the compound ascidian Aplidium globosum (Herdman, 1886) from a depth of 272 m on Burdwood Bank (east of Staten Island and south of the Falkland Islands). The adult female copepod of the genus Botryllophilus (Botryllophilidae Sars, 1921, Cyclopoida) was found inside the atrial cavity of a zooid. As characteristical for Botryllophilidae, the specimen is showing a left-right asymmetry in setation and shape of the swimming legs 1-4 and the maxilliped. While it is not clear until now whether the copepod species is new to science, it can be stated that this is the first record of a parasitical copepod for the ascidian Aplidium globosum.