Redescription of the poorly known calanoid copepod Pontella karachiensis Fazal-Ur-Rehman, 1973 from the Red Sea with notes on its feeding habits

Abstract

The neustonic calanoid copepod Pontella karachiensis, previously recorded only in the coastal waters of Pakistan and recently in the Arabian Gulf, is fully redescribed from the northern Red Sea because the previous description is insufficient to identify the species. This is the first record of its occurrence in the Red Sea and confirms that this copepod is a subtropical Indian Ocean species. The species belongs to the newly established karachiensis group because of closer similarity to P. minocerami, the other member of the group, than any species of the known species groups. Gut content analysis revealed that P. karachiensis is carnivorous, mainly feeding on planktonic copepods. © The Plankton Society of Japan.