Scolecodes Illg, 1958

Kim, Il-Hoi & Boxshall, Geoff A., 2020, Untold diversity: the astonishing species richness of the Notodelphyidae (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), a family of symbiotic copepods associated with ascidians (Tunicata), Megataxa 4 (1), pp. 1-6 : 603

Genus Scolecodes Illg, 1958

Diagnosis. Body vermiform, elongate, cylindrical, usually curved or coiled, consisting of prosome incorporating all pedigerous somites and small abdomen. Cephalosome expanded laterally, but fused with or obscurely defined from metasome. Swimming legs confined to anterior part of prosome, separated from one another by regular intervals. Fourth pedigerous somite much longerthan remainingpartofbody, formingbroodpouchincorporating fifth pedigerous somite. Genital openings located posteriorly on prosome. Abdomen 1-segmented, small, incompletely articulated from prosome. Caudal rami distinct, armed with 6 small setae. Rostrum as anterior prominence on cephalosome. Antennule unsegmented, consistingof extremely expanded, globular proximal part and narrow distal part; armed with several setae on both parts. Antenna 2- or 3-segmented; terminal segment (endopod) terminating in claw, with few setae. Labrum obscure, notcovering mouthparts. Mandible and maxillule lobate, bearing several setae. Maxilla unsegmented or incompletely 2-segmented, with 3 or 4 setae. Maxilliped absent. Legs 1–4 broad, biramous, each with 1- or 2- segmented protopod. Basis with outer seta in all legs; basis of leg 1 lacking innerdistal element. Exopods 1- or 2-segmented; endopods unsegmented. Setaeon rami mostly short, broad, spiniform, with nipple-like tip. Leg 4 with or without inner coxal seta. Leg 5 absent.

Type species. Scolecodes huntsmani (Henderson, 1930) by original designation.

Remarks. Illg (1958) established the genus Scolecodes to accommodate Scolecimorpha huntsmani Henderson, 1931 and redescribed this species on the basis of newly collected specimens associated with Styela gibbsii Stimpson, 1864 , the type host, and Pyura hauster (Stimpson, 1864) from Washington, near the type locality in British Columbia, Canada. Dudley (1966) recorded Boltenia villosa (Stimpson, 1864) as an additional host of this copepod, also from Washington State. Illg (1970b) recorded the discovery of this species associated with Cnemidocarpa fertilis (Hartmeyer, 1906) and C. finmarkiensis (Kiaer, 1893) in Japanese waters.

The genus Scolecodes appears to be related to Campodelphys gen. nov., especiallyinleg form. However, comparedto Campodelphys gen. nov., in Scolecodes the body is more elongate, the prosome isexpanded to include all the pedigerous somites plus the genital somite, and the free abdomen is unsegmented. In addition, the maxilliped is absent in Scolecodes but present in Campodelphys gen. nov.