Notomasticola, Kim & Sikorski & O’Reilly & Boxshall, 2013

Kim, Il-Hoi, Sikorski, Andrey, O’Reilly, Myles & Boxshall, Geoff A., 2013, Copepods associated with polychaete worms in European seas, Zootaxa 3651 (1), pp. 1-62 : 57

Notomasticola n. gen.

Diagnosis. Body elongate and vermiform, without clear body division. Abdomen 1-segmented. Caudal ramus with 6 setae. Antennule broad and 4-segmented. Antenna indistinctly 3- or 4-segmented. Mandible distally armed with 1 ventral lash and 2 dorsal spines. Maxillule bilobed, with setae on lobes. Maxilla 2-segmented; proximal segment unarmed; distal segment forming claw. Maxilliped absent. Legs 1–3 with 2-segmented rami; outer spine of first exopodal segment transformed to claw; endopodal segments enlarged and foliaceous but unarmed. Leg 4 represented by 1 seta. Leg 5 large, located dorsolaterally and 2-segmented but unarmed. Leg 6 represented by 1 seta in genital area.

Type species. Notomasticola frondosus n. gen. et n. sp., by original designation.

Etymology. The generic name Notomasticola is a combination of an abbreviation of the name of the most frequently reported host, Notomastus , combined with the latin suffix icola meaning to dwell in or inhabit. Gender masculine.

Remarks. At first glance, the vermiform body and large leg 5 of this copepod led us to infer that it might belong to the family Serpulidicolidae . However, the absence of a maxilliped, the large endopods of legs 1–3, and the very characteristic mandible together suggested that it could not be placed in the Serpulidicolidae . The mandible with its 3 basally articulated elements, and the bilobed maxillule are both clausidiid-like in form. The claw-like distal segment of the maxilla is suggestive of a lichomolgoid affinity. However, the first to third legs have the outer spine of the proximal segment of the exopod transformed to a claw, which forms the anchoring apparatus, and the enlarged but unarmed endopods are autapomorphic features. The 4-segmented and greatly expanded antennule and its possession of enlarged distal setae are also autapomorphic states. This genus cannot readily be placed in any existing family, however it is highly derived and probably represents a terminal branch arising within another family. Therefore we consider this new genus to be incertae sedis within the Cyclopoida .