Vaoda, Kim & Boxshall, 2020

Kim, Il-Hoi & Boxshall, Geoff A., 2020, Untold diversity: the astonishing species richness of the Notodelphyidae (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), a family of symbiotic copepods associated with ascidians (Tunicata), Megataxa 4 (1), pp. 1-6 : 416

Vaoda gen. nov.

Diagnosis. Body dorsoventrally depressed in female, narrower in male. Prosome consisting of cephalosome and 4 pedigerous somites: dorsal cephalic shield and second and third pedigerous somites of female each with welldeveloped epimera. Fourth pedigerous somite forming brood pouch, much longer than other pedigerous somites. Free urosome 5-segmented in female and 6-segmented in male. Rostrum well-developed. Antennule 9-segmented. Antenna 4-segmented; endopod 2-segmented with small terminal claw, exopod represented by 2 vestigial setae. Mandible with 5 teeth on coxal gnathobase; basis with 1 seta; exopod of female with 4 setae, distalmost seta enlarged; exopod of male with 5 subequal setae; endopod with 3 and 7 setae on first and second segments, respectively. Maxillulewith well-defined arthrite, coxal endite and epipodite; basis fused with exopod and endopod forming complex armed with reduced number of setae. Maxilla 3-segmented with unsegmentedendopod bearing 3 setae. Maxilliped unsegmented, armedwith 7 setae medially and 2 setae apically in female, but only 5 setae medially and 2 setae apically in male. Leg 1 with 3-segmented rami; inner coxal seta large; basis with inner distal spine; first endopodal segment with rudimentary inner seta. Legs 2–4 with 3-segmented exopods and 2- segmented endopods; coxalacking inner seta. Leg 4 without inner seta on first segment of both rami. Leg 5 small, protopod slender with outer naked seta, exopodal segment with 2 unequal apical setae. Leg 6 absent in female; represented by 3 setae on genital operculum in male.

Type and only species. Vaoda depressa gen. et sp. nov., by original designation.

Etymology. The new generic name is an anagram of Davao, the type locality of the type species. Gender feminine.

Remarks. The new genus shares the fusion of the basis, exopod andendopod of themaxillulewith Sympygus gen. nov. and with Sesir , and all three genera share a swimming leg setation pattern which is not significantly reduced. Vaoda gen. nov. can be distinguished from the other two genera by a number of features: (1) the body of the female is dorsoventrally depressed, whereas in Sympygus gen. nov. the body is bilaterally compressed and in Sesir it is cylindrical and there is no expressed segmentation in the urosome; (2) the mandibular exopod is armed with 4 setae in Vaoda gen. nov. and Sympygus gen. nov. comparedto 5 setaein Sesir ; (3) themaxillule possessesa coxalendite which islacking inboth Sympygus gen. nov. and Sesir ; (4) the endopod of the maxilla is unsegmented, comparedto 3-segmented in Sympygus gen. nov. and Sesir ; and (5) the setation of legs 1–4 is better developed than in Sesir , but less developed than in Sympygus gen. nov.