Biological Systematic of the genus Notodiaptomus Kiefer 1936 (Copepoda: Calanoida)

Abstract

The present effort is a systematic review of the most diverse diaptomid copepods from the South America, the Notodiaptomus Kiefer 1936. We proposed to review and identify new morphological characteristics for 37 currently accepted species, assess nomenclatural status, and to examine their relatedness relations. The identification of 2700 morphological hypotheses for males and females are encoded in DEscription Language for TAxonomy (DELTA), used for a historical evaluation of the genus, and arrive at the first parsimony-based phylogeny for Notodiaptomus. We present synonymy of all species, status of type material, updated record of occurrences, taxonomic remarks, and dichotomous and interactive key for males and females. The rescue of the common and exclusive ancestor based on 80 synapomorphic characters recovers the monophyly of the organisms of the considered species, supports the discussion of the exclusive conditions and the historically indicated taxonomic relationships. Through this we wish to help establish an additional step on the consistency of the taxonomy of these species, contributing to answer important questions about the origin of some of the characteristics presented.