CANTHOCAMPTIDAE Sars, 1906, emend. Monard, 1927, Lang, 1948


MESOCHRA Boeck, 1865

Apsteinia Schmeil, 1894 (synonym) Paratachidius Brady & Robertson, 1873 (synonym)

Type species: Mesochra lilljeborgi Hamond, 1971

The genus Mesochra is widespread in many parts of the World, with species mostly living in the marine intertidal zones or in saline coastal lagoons. At present it includes 52 named, valid species and subspecies.


  • Mesochra aestuarii aestuarii Gurney, 1921 [Europe, URSS; lake, brackish waters]
  • Mesochra aestuarii aralensis Borutzky, 1927 [Asia; brackish waters]
  • Mesochra aestuarii baltica Schafer, 1936 [Germany; brackish waters]
  • Mesochra alaskana Wilson, 1958 [Alaska, Japan; lakes, rivers]
  • Mesochra anomala Klie, 1950 [Helgoland; marine]
  • Mesochra arenicola Nicholls, 1940 [St. Lawrence; coastal waters]
  • Mesochra armoricana Monard, 1935 [France; marine] Nannomesochra arupinensis (Brian, 1925)
  • Mesochra baylyi Hamond, 1971 [Australia; brackish lakes]
  • Mesochra bisetosa Lee & Chang, 2008 [South Korea; brackish waters]
  • Mesochra bodini Kunz, 1975 [Africa; coastal waters]
  • Mesochra brucei Richard, 1898 [north Sea; marine]
  • Mesochra dulcicola Jakobi, 1956 [Brazil; coastal lagoons]
  • Mesochra exigua Sars G.O., 1911 (=Cletomesochra exigua (Sars G.O., 1911) accepted as Heteropsyllus exiguus (Sars G.O., 1911)
  • Mesochra flava Lang, 1933 [Macquarie Island, Australia; brackish waters, wetlands]
  • Mesochra freyri Gomez & Steinarsdottir 2007 [Iceland; intertidal pools]
  • Mesochra gracilis (Brady & Robertson D., 1873)
  • Mesochra heldti Monard, 1935 [Europe, north Africa; marine, brackish waters]
  • Mesochra hinumaensis Kikuchi, 1972 [Japan; costal river interstitial]
  • Mesochra hirticornis (Scott T., 1895) (syn. Mesochra rapiens (Schmeil, 1894)
  • Mesochra huysi Suarez-Morales & Fuentes-Reines, 2015 [Colombia; laguna waters]
  • Mesochra inconspicua (T. Scott, 1899) [Ireland, Scotland; marine, interstitial]
  • Mesochra inermis (Brady, 1902)
  • Mesochra ingolfssoni Gomez & Steinarsdottir 2007 [Iceland; intertidal pools]
  • Mesochra lybica Blanchard & Richard , 1891
  • Mesochra lilljeborgi Boeck, 1865 [Europe, Africa, north America; fresh, brackish waters, mudflats, saltmarshes]
  • Mesochra lindbergi Petkovski, 1964 [Portugal; marine]
  • Mesochra meridionalis Sars, 1905 [India; brackish waters] *
  • Mesochra nana Brady, 1910 [Falkland, Kerguelen; ?]
  • Mesochra mexicana M.S. Wilson, 1971 [Mexico; marine, brackish waters]
  • Mesochra oligochaeta Kornev & Chertoprud, 2008
  • Mesochra pacifica Gomez-Noguera & Fiers, 1997 [Mexico; coastal lagoons]
  • Mesochra pallaresi Soyer, 1977 [Kerguelen; intertidal]
  • Mesochra paranensis Jakobi, 1954 [Brazil; brackish coastal waters]
  • Mesochra parva Thomson, 1946 [Australia; lagoons]
  • Mesochra pestai Lang, 1948 [Bulgaria; marine?]
  • Mesochra pontica Marcus, 1965 [Black sea] (syn, Mesochra aestuarii aestuarii Gurney, 1921)
  • Mesochra prowaseki Van Douwe, 1907 [China, Indonesia; marine] (taxon inquirendum)
  • Mesochra pseudoparva Gomez-Noguera & Fiers, 1997 [Mexico; coastal lagoons]
  • Mesochra pygmaea (Claus, 1863) [Palaearctic, Australia; marine, sand and amongst algae] (Species incertae)
  • Mesochra quadrispinosa Shen & Tai, 1965 [China; brackish waters]
  • Mesochra rapiens (Schmeil, 1894) [Europe, Asia, Japan, north America; brackish waters]
  • Mesochra reducta Klie, 1950 [Helgoland; marine] (Species incertae) (taxon inquirendum)
  • Mesochra robertsoni Brady, 1880
  • Mesochra rostrata Gurney, 1927 [Europe, Egypt; marine, brackish waters]
  • Mesochra schmidti Mielke, 1974 [Spitzbergen; marine]
  • Mesochra sewelli Lang, 1948 [India; lakes]
  • Mesochra snoppa Gomez & Steinarsdottir 2007 [Iceland; intertidal pools]
  • Mesochra spinicauda Scott T. & A., 1895 (syn. Paraleptastacus spinicauda (Scott T. & Scott A., 1895)
  • Mesochra stellfeldi Jakobi, 1954 [Brazil; brackish coastal watersl]
  • Mesochra suifunensis Borutzky, 1952 [China; brackish waters]
  • Mesochra timsae Gurney, 1927 [Tunisie, Suez; marine]
  • Mesochra wolskii Jakubisiak, 1933 [India; Egypt; lake, brackish waters]
  • Mesochra xenopoda Monard, 1935 [Europe, north Africa; brackish waters]

    * questionable species


    INCERTAE SEDIS

  • Mesochra lybica Blanchard & Richard, 1891 [Algeria; salt waters]


    WORLD KEY TO SPECIES

    Hamond R. 1971. The Australian species of mesochra (Crustacea: Harpacticoida), with a comprehensive key to the genus. Australian J. Zool., supp. 7:1-32.

    Fiers F. & Ph. Rutledge. 1990. Harpacticoid copepods associated with Spartina alterniflora culms from the marshes of Cocodrie, Louisiana (Crustacea, Copepoda). Bull. Inst. roy. sc. nat. Belgique,60: 105-125



    PHOLETISCUS Humes, 1947

  • Pholetiscus wilsoni (Pearse, 1930) [Borneo; decapods parasite]
  • Pholetiscus orientalis Humes, 1947 [Borneo; decapods parasite]
  • Pholetiscus rectiseta Humes, 1947 [Borneo; decapods parasite]



    OPHIRION Por, 1967

    PORDFUS Özdikmen, 2008 comb. non.


    The generic name Ophirion Townsend, 1911 was proposed for a genus of the family Tachinidae (with the type species Ophirion mirabile Townsend, 1911). Subsequently, the generic name Ophirion Por, 1967 introduced for a new copepod genus (with the type species Ophirion communis Por, 1967) of the family Canthocamptidae. Thus, according to Özdikmen (2008) the genus Ophirion Por, 1967 is a junior homonym of the generic name Ophirion Townsend, 1911 and should be changed in Pordfus nom. nov.

  • Pordfus communis (Por, 1967) [Red Sea]



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