Arenopontia subterranea, KUNZ, 1937

Sak, Serdar, Huys, Rony & Karaytuğ, Süphan, 2008, Disentangling the subgeneric division of Arenopontia Kunz, 1937: resurrection of Psammoleptastacus Pennak, 1942, re-examination of Neoleptastacus spinicaudatus Nicholls, 1945, and proposal of two new genera and a new generic classification (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Arenopontiidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 152, pp. 409-458 : 413-414

ARENOPONTIA SUBTERRANEA KUNZ, 1937

Arenopontia (Arenopontia) subterranea Kunz, 1937 : Wells (1967)

Original description: Kunz (1937): pp. 107–110; Abb. 8 (figs 38–42), 9 (figs 43–47), 10 (figs 48–51).

Type locality: Germany, Kieler Förde , Schilksee; ‘ Küstengrundwasser’ (intertidal coastal groundwater) .

Arenopontia subterranea has been reported from a wide range of localities throughout Europe, from the Baltic to the Black Sea basin. With additional records from Madeira ( Delamare Deboutteville, 1960b), India ( Rao, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1980, 1991; Rao & Ganapati, 1968, 1969; Rao & Misra, 1983), Mozambique ( Wells, 1967), and North Carolina ( Lindgren, 1976) it is not surprising that this species has been regarded as potentially cosmopolitan ( Wells, 1967, 1986; Lindgren, 1976). Lindgren (1976) claimed its range might be extended with more investigation of sandy beaches in the Pacific. Unfortunately, the great majority of these records are not accompanied by illustrations, and consequently their authenticity cannot be verified. The discovery of a closely related species from the Isle of Sylt ( Sak, 2004) casts further doubt on the validity of most north-western European, and even some German, records. Arlt’s (1983) illustrations show that his Baltic specimen does not belong to A. subterranea either, raising the suspicion that not all records from east of the Skagerrak necessarily pertain to the type species. There is no doubt that many authors have attributed their material to A. subterranea on the sole basis that this species shows extensive intraspecific variability. The true range of the species is as yet unknown, and the only reliable records appear to be restricted to German waters: (1) North Sea coast – Isle of Sylt ( Noodt, 1952, 1956, 1957; Mielke, 1975, 1976), Amrum ( Noodt, 1956, 1957), Sankt Peter-Ording ( Noodt, 1956), and Helgoland ( Martínez Arbizu & Moura, 1994); (2) Kieler Bucht – Schilksee ( Kunz, 1937; Noodt, 1956), Bottsand, Gelting Birk, Weissenhaus, and Heiligenhafen ( Noodt, 1956, 1957).

The type material of A. subterranea , as well as the remainder of Kunz’ earlier collections, were destroyed during World War II when the Institut für Meereskunde was heavily bombed in 1944 ( Schriever, 1984). We have been unable to obtain topotype or other material that could be attributed with confidence to A. subterranea , and instead we have selected A. nesaie for the model description. Illustrations and text are based on material collected from the Turkish west coast (Marmara Sea), which represents a considerable extension of the range for the species.