Arenopontia subterranea Kunz, 1937 sensu Marinov (1971)

Sak, Serdar, Karaytuğ, Süphan & Huys, Rony, 2024, A revision of the genus Arenopontia Kunz, 1937 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Arenopontiidae), including the description of five new species, Zootaxa 5433 (1), pp. 1-50 : 40

Arenopontia subterranea Kunz, 1937 sensu Marinov (1971)

Marinov (1971) fiercely criticized Apostolov’s (1969) description of A. pontica , stating that it contained numerous observational errors in addition to contradictions between the text and illustrations. Despite these inadequacies, Marinov (1971: 69–70; Figs 23(3), 26) claimed that A. pontica looked very similar to A. subterranea from the Black Sea and provided illustrations of the female P1–P5 and caudal ramus based on specimens collected from the Bulgarian coast (no exact localities specified). No text description was provided and information about the body length and the male is lacking. The spinular ornamentation on P1 enp-1 is continuous along the entire outer margin—a questionable condition not found in any other member of the genus—and may suggest that it belongs to Group I. Although his material bears some resemblance to A. anatolica sp. nov. (as pointed out by Sak 2004), we have elected not to treat it as conspecific for now because of small differences in the length of the P1 endopod and setal elements on the female P5. Such morphological discrepancies may be suggestive of the presence of an as yet undescribed species occurring along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast or merely reflect inaccuracies in Marinov’s figures. Pending re-examination of material A. subterranea sensu Marinov (1971) is treated as a taxon of doubtful identity.