Euchonicoloides, Boxshall & O’Reilly & Sikorski & Summerfield, 2019

Boxshall, Geoff A., O’Reilly, Myles, Sikorski, Andrey & Summerfield, Rebecca, 2019, Mesoparasitic copepods (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) associated with polychaete worms in European seas, Zootaxa 4579 (1), pp. 1-69 : 57

Genus Euchonicoloides gen. nov.

Diagnosis. Adult female body highly transformed, comprising ectosoma connected via short stalk to flattened endosoma located within host. Ectosoma comprising fused cephalothorax and trunk incorporating abdomen. Endosoma discoid to lobate, with well defined margins. Ectosoma elongate to squat, with or without traces of trunk segmentation. Genital apertures paired, located at posterolateral angles of trunk, either side of vestigial abdomen. Abdomen incorporated into trunk, lacking caudal rami and anal slit. Cement glands paired, conspicuous in posterior part of trunk in mature females. Egg sacs uniseriate or biseriate. Ectosoma with pair of antennae close to base of stalk. Antennae 2-segmented, subchelate, comprising robust basal segment and curved subchela. Antennules, other mouthparts and swimming legs all lacking. Male unknown.

Type species: Euchonicoloides elongatus gen. et sp. nov., by original designation.

Etymology. The name of the new genus alludes to its close resemblance to Euchonicola gen. nov.

Remarks. The organization of the body of the new genus is similar to that of Euchonicola gen. nov. The type species of both genera share a subchelate antenna that terminates in a curved claw, and both lack maxillae which are present in the saccopsine genera. The new genus differs from Euchonicola gen. nov. in the incorporation of the abdomen into the trunk, in the lack of caudal rami and an anal slit on the vestigial abdomen, and in the absence of any vestiges of antennules.