Synurus, Harris, 2014

Harris, Vernon A., 2014, Porcellidiidae of Australia (Harpacticoida, Copepoda). II. The Importance of the Male Antennule in Taxonomy, Records of the Australian Museum 66 (2), pp. 111-166 : 123

Genus Synurus gen. nov.

Porcellidium .— Ummerkutty, 1970: 158.

Type species. Synurus ctenocheirus sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Male genital double-somite fused to metasome segment 4 and baseoendopod of P5; epipleural lobe of male metasome segment 3 long, stretches back to posterior extremity of caudal ramus; male P5 exopod ovate (not trapezoidal) with one lateral seta, terminal setae atrophied or absent; seta T1 absent from male and female caudal ramus; segment 3 of P2, P3 and P4 exopod with only two external setae; anterior of male cephalosome deeply concave; anterior of female cephalosome truncated; female P5 exopod without ventral expansion, P5s reach beyond genital double-somite but do not touch posteriorly; spermatophore elongate, ephemeral on female.

Species composition. Synurus unicus (Ummerkutty, 1970) comb. nov.; S. ctenocheirus sp. nov.

The genus is known from Gulf of Mannar, Sri Lanka ( Ceylon), Okinawa, Japan and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Etymology. The name Synurus (masculine) refers to the fusion of the anal segment with the caudal rami on female specimens of the type species (G. syn = together, conjoint + oura = tail).

Remarks. Males of this genus are unique among the Porcellidiidae in having an ovate P5 exopod with long lateral seta and terminal setae that are atrophied or absent. This limb strongly resembles the general form of the female P5, except for the absence of a ventral falciform ridge and dorsal setae.