First record of the copepod Cymbasoma chelemense (Copepoda: Monstrilloida) in the Colombian Caribbean Sea

Abstract

As part of monitoring in the estuarine inner Bay of Cartagena, Colombia during the year 2016, a female adult specimen of
Cymbasoma chelemense was collected and identified. Originally described for the Gulf of Mexico and sharing the following
morphological and morphometric characteristics: Cephalothorax of at least 68% of the total length of the body. Oral papilla located at least 20% of the total length of the cephalothorax; Ocelli present; genital complex with ovigerous spines located at the base and with one single post genital somites, the ovigerous spines at least 14% longer than the total length of the body and about 10 times the length of urosome. This is the first record of a copepod of the genus Cymbasoma in Colombia estuarine waters, increasing the range of distribution of this species in the Caribbean Sea.