The genus Amphiascoides was considered a member of the family Diosaccidae Sars,1906 since its creation in 1941; however, a recent revision by Willen (2002) synonymized Diosaccidae with the older (1846) family Miraciidae. Therefore, all the genera previously contained in this family, including Amphiascoides, now belong to the Miraciidae. When first erected by Nicholls (1941) as the morphological link between Schizopera and Amphiascus, the genus Amphiascoides contained 20 species plus at least one more: A. brevifurca, of which he had not enough data at that time but that is currently known to be a valid species (Bodin 1997). Later on, Lang (1948, 1965) described several other species assignable to this genus and recognized about 25 nominal species. Lotufo & Fleeger (1995) considered that the number of species known was around 20. In the most recent and comprehensive revision of the marine harpacticoids by Bodin (1997), the number of species in Amphiascoides was reduced to only 16, but this catalog did not include four species of Amphiascella Lang, 1944, a genus synonymized to Amphiascoides by Lang (1948). These species are: A. littoralis (T. Scott, 1903), A. neglectus (Norman & Scott, 1905), A. proximus (T. Scott, 1914), and A. sterilis (Monard, 1926). Amphiascoides arabicus, described by Noodt (1964), was considered by Lang (1965) as belonging to another genus; there are still other nominal species related to this group whose taxonomic status is still uncertain (see Bodin 1997). Historically, the lack of information on basic morphology and of the key characters for many species has generated hesitation among taxonomists, particularly in classifying closely related forms (Suarez-Morales & Avilés Torres, 2003). The most recent description of a species of this genus was published by Lotufo & Fleeger (1995) for A. atopus Lotufo & Fleeger, 1995, found in bioassay cultures, but with an uncertain geographical or ecological origin. These authors sorted out two species groups containing each about half the number of the 20 species they included in their analysis. One group has 7 elements on the third exopodal segment of the fourth swimming leg, and the other only 6. They assigned their new species to the first one, sharing this character with at least 10 other species: Amphiascoides brevifurca (Czernivaski, 1886), A. breviarticulatus Kunz, 1983, A. bulbiseta Pallares 1975a, A. dimorphus Lang, 1965, A. koltuni Kunz, 1983, A. lancisetiger Lang, 1965, A. neglectus (Norman & Scott, 1905), A. nichollsi Lang, 1965, A. petkovskii Lang, 1965, and A. subdebilis (Willey, 1935) [from: Suarez-Morales & Aviles-Torres, 2003]
World distribution of the known species of Amphiascoides based on Nicholls (1941),
Noodt (1955a,b), Lang (1948, 1965), Por & Marcus (1972), Mielke (1974), Marcotte & Coull
(1975), Pallares (1975a,b), Hicks (1977), Chislenko (1977, 1978), Ceccherelli & Rossin (1979),
Ceccherelli & Ferrari (1982), Kask et al., (1983), Kunz (1983), Bodin (1997), and Lotufo & Fleeger
(1995). Key for the abbreviations of names: Aa= Amphiascoides atopus; Abr= A. breviarticulatus;
Abf= A. brevifurca; Abu= A. bulbiseta; Ade= A. debilis; Ad= A. dimorphus; Adi= A. dispar; Ag= A.
golikovi; Ak= A. koltuni; Al= A. lancisetiger; Alt= A. littoralis; An= A. nanus; And= A. nanoides;
Ang= A. neglectus; Ani= A. nichollsi; Apa= A. paradebilis; Ap= A. petkovski; Apx= A. proxima;
As= A. sterilis; Asd= A. subdebilis; Aw= A. walteri n.sp.(after: Suarez-Morales & Aviles-Torres, 2003)
Martinez Arbizu & Moura, 1994 dissolved the family Cylindropsyllidae (Sars, 1909), Lang, 1948 , allocating the subfamily Cylindropsillinae to the family Canthocamptidae and raising to family rank the subfamily Leptopontiinae.
More recently Recently Huys & Conroy-Dalton (2006) described 3 new species of the genus Evansula, including them in the re-established family Cylindropsillidae: Evansula cumbaensis Huys & Conroy-Dalton, 2006; Evansula polaris Huys & Conroy-Dalton, 2006; Evansula spinosa Huys & Conroy-Dalton, 2006.
In this occasion the AA. retain the Cylindropsyllidae as a valid family comprising the following genera: Cylindropsyllus Brady, 1880; Evansula T. Scott, 1906b; Stenocaris Sars, 1909; Cylinula Coull, 1971; Boreopontia Willems, 1981; Stenocaropsis Apostolov, 1982; Willemsia Huys & Conroy-Dalton, 1993; Navalonia Huys & Conroy-Dalton, 1993; and Selenopsyllus Moura & Pottek, 1998. Of these, the genus Cylindropsyllus is possibly paraphyletic and Stenocaris undoubtedly polyphyletic.
"T. Scott (1902) claimed that Leptopontia T. Scott resembled Mesochra Boeck (now
Canthocamptidae) and Tetragoniceps Brady (now Tetragonicipitidae) in certain aspects, a view also held by Monard (1927) who formally allocated it to the
Canthocamptidae. The genus was not considered by Sars (1903–1911) but Gurney
(1932) placed it, along with Evansula T. Scott and Leptastacus T. Scott, in the Evansula
series, one of six generic groupings defined in Gurney’s classification of the
Canthocamptidae. The two monotypic genera Leptopontia and Arenopontia Kunz were
moved by Lang (1944) to the Cylindropsyllidae, i.e. in the Leptopontia-Reihe which
subsequently acquired subfamilial status (Lang, 1948). This classification gained wide
usage although some authors continued to include Leptopontia in the Canthocamptidae
(Apostolov, 1971). Recently, Martinez Arbizu & Moura (1994) dramatically
altered the concept of the Leptopontiinae and raised it to family rank. The genus Leptopontia, however, has
remained monotypic since its establishment at the turn of the century (T. Scott,
1902). Leptopontia curvicauda T. Scott was one of the very few interstitial copepods
discovered during the era marked by the numerous surveys of Thomas and Andrew
Scott, long before Wilson (1935) and Nicholls (1935) drew attention on the existence
of meiofaunal harpacticoids in sandy beaches on both sides of the Atlantic." (from: Huys & Conroy-Dalton, 1996).
"The genus Psammopsyllus was first created by Nicholls (1945), who allocated it to
the Stenocaridae Monard, 1927. Later, Krishnaswamy (1956) established a new genus,
Sewellina, and placed it together with the closely related Psammopsyllus in a new
subfamily Psammopsyllinae, within the Cylindropsyllidae. Martínez Arbizu and Moura
(1994) upgraded the Leptopontiinae to family status to accommodate the subfamilies
Leptopontiinae, Psammopsyllinae, and a new subfamily, Arenopontiinae. Huys et al.
(1996) only partly accepted this classification and treated the Arenopontiinae as a
distinct family. Bruno et al. (1998) also showed that Arenopontiinae are not closely
related to the Leptopontiinae and recognized a relationship between the Psammopsyllinae
and Parastenocarididae.
The genus Psammopsyllus is characterized by the loss of the exopod on the first leg.
(from: Karaytug & Sak, 2005).
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