Deeveya Kornicker & Iliffe 1985

Kornicker, Louis S., Iliffe, Thomas M. & Harrison-Nelson, Elizabeth, 2007, Ostracoda (Myodocopa) from Anchialine Caves and Ocean Blue Holes, Zootaxa 1565 (1), pp. 1-151 : 51-55

Deeveya Kornicker & Iliffe 1985

Deeveya Kornicker & Iliffe 1985: 476 .

Type Species. Deeveya spiralis Kornicker & Iliffe 1985 .

Composition and distribution. The genus includes seven species ( D. bransoni Kornicker & Palmer 1987 , D. exleyi Kornicker & Iliffe 1998 , D. hirpex Kornicker 1990 in Kornicker et al. 1990, D. jillae Kornicker & Iliffe 1989a , D. medix Kornicker 1990 in Kornicker et al. 1990, D. spiralis Kornicker & Iliffe 1985 , D. styrax Kornicker 1990 in Kornicker et al. 1990) from anchialine caves in the West Indies. The distribution of species is presented in Table 2.

Identification of growth stages. Members of Deeveya generally live in the deep recesses of caves and apparently do not occur in great numbers, for each collection usually contains only a few specimens. The specimens collected may or may not include adults. Because of the difficulties inherent in collecting specimens of this important taxon, the senior author in prior publications has attempted to differentiate species that were represented in the collections in various developmental stages. When the morphometric characters of the various developmental stages became better known, it was possible to reestimate the stage of development of previously described specimens (Kornicker et al. 2002: Table 5).

The A-3 and A-5 instars of a member of the genus ( D. bransoni Kornicker & Palmer 1987 ) are described for the first time. As a result, the A-1 to A-5 instars are known in the genus. The A-4 instar of D. bransoni is also described; previously, that instar was known for only D. jillae Kornicker & Iliffe 1989a .

The data on the furca of the known stages of species of Deeveya suggest that the number of claws on each lamella is useful for discriminating the developmental stage of a specimen ( Tables 7, 8).

*Percentages were calculated by subtracting the number of bristles, claws, and teeth in one stage from the number in the following stage, then dividing the difference by the number in the first stage and multiplying by 100.

**Percentages were calculated by dividing the number of bristles, claws, and teeth between successive stage by the total number obtained by subtracting the number on instar I from the number on the adult female and then multiplying by 100. ***Percentages were calculated by dividing the number of bristles, claws, and teeth on each stage by the number on the adult female and then multiplying by 100.

The stage of development of the male copulatory organ is useful in discriminating between the A-1 instar and the adult, and the stage of development of the female genitalia and the presence of eggs are of some use in discriminating between the A-1 instar and the adult, but these are of less certain value than differences in the copulatory organ of the male (Kornicker et al. 2002: 11).

Although the distributions of bristles on individual appendages of the A-1 instar and adult appear to be fairly similar, it was observed that the total number of bristles at each stage of D. bransoni , including the A-1 instar and adult, steadily increased ( Table 9, Figs. 25 , 26 ). An examination of Table 9 shows that whereas the numbers of bristles on the first and second antennae and mandible of the A-1 instar and adult are fairly constant, the numbers of bristles on some segments of the maxilla and fifth and sixth limbs of the adult are greater than on the A-1 instar. The numbers of bristles on the first endopod segments of the fifth and sixth limbs, which are fairly easy to count on whole specimens, are listed in Table 10. The data suggest that the numbers of bristles on the first endopod segments of the fifth and sixth limbs may be useful in discriminating between the A-1 instar and adult of species of Deeveya . The stage of development of the A- 1 male and the adult male can be ascertained with certainty because of clear differences in the morphology of the copulatory organs. The total numbers of bristles on D. bransoni and Eusarsiella syrinx are compared in Figs. 25 and 26 .

Comparison of carapace lengths of species of Deeveya . Recognition of the three species D. bransoni , D. styrax and D. medix (all Kornicker 1990 in Kornicker et al. 1990) are based primarily on differences in the copulatory organ of the adult male. The hypothesis of different species is supported by their carapaces having different lengths ( Table 11). The oldest stage known for D. jillae is the A-2 instar. The length of the A-2 instar of D. bransoni suggests that the adult D. jillae is much smaller than the adult D. bransoni .

Collecting depths of species of Deeveya . Depths in anchialine caves at which specimens were collected have been reported for only four species of Deeveya : D. bransoni (22–50 m) ( Kornicker & Palmer 1987:611; herein), D. jillae (0–3 m) ( Kornicker & Iliffe (1989a: 19), D. spiralis (5–7 m), ( Kornicker & Iliffe 1985:476) and D. exleyi (0–1 m) ( Kornicker & Iliffe 1998:90). Although the data are too few to draw firm conclusions, they suggest that D. bransoni lives at greater depths than the other three species. D. bransoni is reported herein from two ocean blue holes at depths of 30– 70 m. Some specimens of D. bransoni were collected about 1200 m inside an ocean blue hole (Crab Cay Cravasse).

Figures

FIGURE 25. Comparison of approximate number of bristles, claws, and spines on instars and adult female appendages of Deeveya bransoni (herein) and Eusarsiella syrinx (herein).

FIGURE 26. Percent of total bristles, claws, and teeth on instars and adult female appendages of Deeveya bransoni and Eusarsiella syrinx.