First record of small tropical calanoid copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris (Copepoda, Calanoida, Paracalanidae) in the Adriatic Sea

Abstract

In December 2014, the adult females and copepodites of an alien paracalanid copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris were identified in the Central Adriatic port of Šibenik. The most probable transmission vector for this small copepod is ballast water from cargo ships that is regularly discharged at these locations. This paper focuses on the morphology of P. crassirostris and the state of its population in the port of Šibenik. The possible path of introduction of Parvocalanus crassirostris into the Adriatic Sea is also discussed.