Afrolaophonte Chappuis, 1960

Sönmez, Serdar, Karaytuğ, Süphan, Sak, Serdar & Alper, Alp, 2018, Variations in Afrolaophonte pori Masry, 1970 (Copepoda: Harpacticoida: Laophontidae a contribution towards the revision of the genus, Turkish Journal of Zoology 42, pp. 29-45 : 29-30

Genus Afrolaophonte Chappuis, 1960 is one of the vermiform genera of the family Laophontidae Scott T., 1904 that occur exclusively in the interstitial realm of the intertidal zone of sandy beaches. They show typical modifications for an interstitial lifestyle, with their small, cylindrical bodies and highly reduced appendages (Fiers, 1990; Huys, 1990). The genus shares these characters with other interstitially living laophontid genera like Laophontina Norman & Scott T., 1905 ; Klieonychocamptoides Noodt, 1958 ; Galapalaophonte Mielke, 1981 ; Amerolaophontina Fiers, 1991 ; and Wellsiphontina Fiers, 1991 , but it can easily be recognized by the morphology of the fourth swimming leg (P4) in both sexes (Fiers, 1990; Lang, 1965). Although the genus Afrolaophonte was clearly defined by the fusion of the P4 endopod to the basis, in several representatives of the genus, very basic taxonomical issues have so far remained unresolved, and the geographic distribution of most species is poorly known.

Genus Afrolaophonte was established by Chappuis (1960) to accommodate A. monodi , which was described from the littoral waters of Senegal. Lang (1965) then transferred Laophontina brevipes and L. renaudi to

* Correspondence: [e-mail] Afrolaophonte . With the 10 species described after Lang (1965), the genus has 13 valid species showing a pantropical distribution (Fiers, 1990).In his work in which he described A. stocki Fiers, 1990 and discussed the zoogeography of the genus, Fiers (1990) divided the genus into 3 groups based on the armature and segmentation of the third (P3) and fourth (P4) swimming legs: 1) the chilensis -group, which has 3-segmented P3 and P4 exopods armed with 4 setae/ spines at the last segment; 2) the brevipes -group, which has 2-segmented P3 and P4 exopods armed with 3 (P3) or 4 (P4) setae/spines at the last segment; and 3) the monodi - group, which has a 3-segmented P4 exopod that bears 3 spines on the last segment.

Afrolaophonte pori Masry, 1970 , which belongs to the monodi -group, is the only representative of the genus in the Mediterranean Sea and was described by Masry (1970) based on materials collected from the sandy beaches of the Nahariyya, Nitzanim, and Akhziv beaches of Israel, without the designation of a type species. Cottarelli et al. (1992) reported and redescribed the species from the Cetara shore (Ischia, Naples, Italy). Recently, Alper et al. (2010, 2015) reported the species from Datça and Dilek Peninsula, Turkey. These two are the only records of the species outside its type locality.

The aim of this study is to present a detailed redescription of A. pori based on extensive material from different parts of the species’ range (Mediterranean), to provide geographic distributional data, and to reveal variations within and between populations. We present a detailed redescription using light and scanning electron microscopy, enabling a morphological characterization constant enough to define A. pori . Previously overlooked characters that can help to differentiate A. pori from other representatives of the genus are introduced. Updated morphological information may serve as a basis for future comparison of other A. pori -like specimens from other localities and may significantly contribute to the phylogenetic reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the genus.