Monstrilloida

Monstrilloida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Maxillopoda
Subclass:	Copepoda
Order:	Monstrilloida G. O. Sars, 1901 [1]
Family:	Monstrillidae Dana, 1849 [2]
Genera
Monstrilla Dana, 1849 Monstrillopsis G. O. Sars, 1921 Thaumalea Krøyer, 1849

Monstrilloida is an order of copepods with a cosmopolitan distribution in the world's oceans. The order contains a single family, Monstrillidae;^[1] the family Thaumatopsyllidae was formerly included in the order, but is now usually placed in the Cyclopoida.^[3] The taxonomy of the family is undergoing a period of revision,^[4] although some necessary changes are apparent; for instance, the genus Strilloma is now considered a taxonomic synonym of Monstrilla, the largest genus.^[5]

The order is poorly known, biologically and ecologically, although the life cycle is known to differ from that of all other copepods.^[6] The larvae are parasites of benthic polychaetes and gastropods, while the adults are planktonic and incapable of feeding, functioning solely to reproduce.^[7]

The family Monstrillidae is characterised by having a well-developed fourth pair of swimming legs, but a rudimentary or absent fifth pair. Adults have no oral appendages, and the mouth leads only to a short, blind pharynx. Females carry a long pair of spines to which the eggs are attached, while males have a "genital protuberance, which is provided with lappets"; in both sexes, the genitalia are very different from those of all other copepods.^[8]

References

Crustaceans portal

1. ^ ^{a b} "Monstrilloida Sars, 1901". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=88989. Retrieved July 8, 2011. 
2. ^ "Monstrillidae Dana, 1849". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=88991. Retrieved July 8, 2011. 
3. ^ J. W. Martin & G. E. Davis (2001) (PDF). An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 1–132. http://atiniui.nhm.org/pdfs/3839/3839.pdf. 
4. ^ E. Suárez-Morales & J. B. Escamilla (2001). "Taxonomic report on some monstrilloids (Copepoda, Monstrilloida) from southeast Mexico with the description of a new species of Monstrilla". Journal of Natural History 35 (10): 1433–1445. doi:10.1080/002229301317067629. 
5. ^ Eduardo Suárez-Morales & Rebeca Gasca (2004). "On the invalidity of Strilloma Isaac (Copepoda: Monstrilloida): observations from the type species". Zoological Studies 43 (2): 292–299. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/43.2/292.pdf. 
6. ^ Cristina de Oliveira Dias (1996). "Monstrilloida (Copepoda) off the Brazilian coast". Hydrobiologia 324 (3): 253–256. doi:10.1007/BF00016397. http://www.springerlink.com/content/l03285552n6gl122/. 
7. ^ E. Suárez-Morales & R. Palomares-García (1995). "A new species of Monstrilla (Copepoda: Monstrilloida) from a coastal system of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico". Journal of Plankton Research 17 (4): 745–752. doi:10.1093/plankt/17.4.745. http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/4/745. 
8. ^ Charles C. Davis (1949). "A primary revision of the Monstrilloidea, with descriptions of two new species". Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 68 (3): 245–255. doi:10.2307/3223221. JSTOR 3223221.