Wellstenhelia melpomene, Karanovic & Kim, 2014

Karanovic, Tomislav & Kim, Kichoon, 2014, New insights into polyphyly of the harpacticoid genus Delavalia (Crustacea, Copepoda) through morphological and molecular study of an unprecedented diversity of sympatric species in a small South Korean bay, Zootaxa 3783 (1), pp. 1-96 : 53

Wellstenhelia melpomene sp. nov.

Synonymy. Stenhelia hanstroemi Lang – Kornev & Chertoprud 2008: p. 201, fig. 5.96.

Type locality. Russia, White Sea , Kandalaksha Gulf, Velikaya Salma Bay, between 30 and 100 m, approximate coordinates 66.497°N 33.621°E .

Type material. Hollotype female illustrated by Kornev & Chertoprud (2008) in fig. 5.96, dissected on two slides; paratypes, numerous males and females in alcohol; all deposited at P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; not examined .

Etymology. The species is named after Melpomene (Ancient Greek: Μελποµένη), one of nine Muses from Greek mythology, who was a patron of tragedy. The species name is a noun in apposition (in the nominative case).

Description. Female as described by Kornev & Chertoprud (2008) from the White Sea, and illustrated in their figure 5.96 as Stenhelia hanstroemi Lang, 1948 . Male not described or illustrated.

Morphological affinities. Kornev & Chertoprud (2008) state that this species is very common in the White Sea, on muddy bottoms between 30 and 100 m, although it is not clear if they found any males. They provide a brief description and skilful drawings of the female habitus in lateral view, caudal ramus in dorsal view, first swimming leg, fourth swimming leg, and fifth leg. In the armature formula of the swimming legs they state that the third exopodal segment of the first leg bears three outer spines, while their fig. 5.96B shows a normal condition, with two outer spines. We consider the former a lapsus calami. Also the number of setae on the second endopodal segment of the second leg is questionable, as no other member of Wellstenhellia gen. nov. bears two setae and there is no evidence that either Lang (1948) or Kornev & Chertoprud (2008) studied this appendage in detail. They mention that their population differs slightly from that described by Lang (1948) just in the shape of the fourth leg endopod. However, Wellstenhelia melpomene sp. nov. and Wellstenhelia hanstromi ( Lang, 1948) comb. nov. differ in at least the following three characters: relative length of the caudal rami (shorter in Wellstenhelia melpomene ), relative length of the inner seta on the first endopodal segment of fourth leg (longer in Wellstenhelia melpomene ), and relative length of the female fifth leg armature (all generally longer in Wellstenhelia melpomene ). In the light of newly discovered diversity of the Korean sympatric stenheliins, these morphological differences cannot be attributed to intraspecific variability. Both species are morphologically most similar to Wellstenhelia clio sp. nov., and their affinities are discussed in the remarks section of the latter species (see above).