A NEW GENUS OF THE RIDGEWAYIIDAE (COPEPODA, CALANOIDA) FROM AN ANCHIALINE CAVE IN THE BAHAMAS

Exumellina bucculenta gen. et sp. nov. was obtained in plankton in Nor man's Pond Cave, Norman's Pond Gay, Exuma Gays, Bahamas. It shows some affinities to Exumella though differing much in mouthparts. The rostr um is a rounded plate with no filaments. The endopods of the mandible and maxillule are elongated and modified into thin and leaf-like struc tures furnished with weak setae. The Ist to 4th legs bear two outer sp ines on the third segment of the exopod. The exopods of the male 5th l egs are modified, endopods only slightly transformed. The five genera in the Ridgewayiidae are recorded in a variety of environments such as plankton, hyperbenthos, and epibenthos. The structure of the Ist to 4 th legs, and in particular the size of the outer spines of the exopods , differ greatly among the genera and seem to reflect their different habitats. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.