First record of Pseudodiaptomus cokeri González & Bowman, 1965 (Copepoda: Calanoida: Pseudodiaptomidae) from Colombia

Abstract

The coastal planktonic calanoid copepod Pseudodiaptomus cokeri González & Bowman, 1965 was found off Rodadero Bay, northern Colombia. A comparative morphological analysis of Colombian specimens suggests a close affinity with other populations from the Caribbean islands. This is the first record of P. cokeri from Colombia and the third record of the genus from this country. It supports the notion that its distributional range does not overlap with that of P. pelagicus Herrick, 1884 in the Northwestern Tropical Atlantic; P. cokeri is a Caribbean species reaching as far north as Belize, whereas P. pelagicus is restricted to the southern Gulf of Mexico.