VII.—The Littoral Copepoda (Crustacea) of Inhaca Island, Mozambique

Abstract

Synopsis This paper deals with a collection of littoral meiobenthic copepods collected at Inhaca Island, Mozambique during the month of September 1963. A total of 135 species of Copepoda Calanoida (1), Cyclopoida (8) and Harpacticoida (126) were found of which 45 are new species and one a new forma. Thirteen new genera are described. The meiobenthos of Inhaca Island is totally unknown and few studies have been made anywhere on the east coast of Africa, the only exceptions being the several researches in the Red Sea and on the island of Madagascar. As the time available was limited and the fauna unknown the major part of the work was devoted to compiling as complete an inventory of the copepod fauna as possible. As far as was possible samples of equivalent size were taken in each habitat and some idea of variation in copepod populations on the different substrates can be estimated, but a more exact ecological approach was not attempted. The fauna proved to be very rich and varied. The greatest number of species and of individuals was found in the detritus sand. In this habitat no one species was super-dominant as was the case in the phytal habitats (algæ and marine grasses) and in clean sand (the interstitial fauna). Due to the lack of information from adjacent areas the zoogeographical relationships of the fauna are difficult to assess. It is possible that many of the new species are quite local. For the established species these new records are of value in assessing their world distribution and the evidence points to many of them being cosmopolitan.