Title: Description of two new Alaskan nanastacid cumaceans, with a key to the nannastacid species
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Principal Investigator Sarah Gerken, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA |
Project goals
Description and publication of two new cumacean species, Procampylasis prov. Sp. A. and Cumella prov. Sp. A, collected during NaGISA sampling, with a key to the nannastacid genera and species from the North Pacific and Arctic.
Results
Two new species of Cumacea were described from the Alaskan coast, Cumella oculatus and C. alaskensis. The new species C. oculatus can be distinguished from other North Pacific Cumella by the combination of a large eye lobe, no spines dorsally on the carapace, and carapace with large tubercles. The new species C. alaskensis can be distinguished from the other North Pacific Cumella by the 5 spines distributed unequally on the dorsal crest. The description of new species of Cumella from boreal‐arctic waters is unusual, because the genus Cumella is mostly found in tropical areas with few species recorded from cold temperate regions. Species from the genus Cumella are generally small, on the order of a few millimeters. The specimens were collected during NaGISA sampling and the project represents a cross-cutting effort between NaGISA and ArcOD.
