TAXONOMIC CHECKLIST OF COPEPODS (ARTHROPODA: CRUSTACEA) OF THE COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN SEA

Abstract

In the Colombian Caribbean there are few studies on zooplankton that have explored their specific composition and the existing information is largely restricted to grey literature. Studies in other areas of the Caribbean show a high species richness of copepods, recording approximately 500 species. This paper presents a taxonomic list of 217 species of planktonic copepods belonging to the orders Calanoida, Cyclopoida, Harpacticoida, Poecillostomatoida, Mormonilloida, and Siphonostomatoida recorded in the Colombian Caribbean since 1970.