A new genus of the Ridgewayiidae (Copepoda, Calanoida) from an anchialine cave in the Bahamas

Exumellina bucculenta gen. et sp. nov. was obtained in plankton in Normanʹs Pond Cave, Normanʹs Pond Cay, Exuma Cays, Bahamas. It shows some affinities to Exumella though differing much in mouthparts. The rostrum is a rounded plate with no filaments. The endopods of the mandible and maxillule are elongated and modified into thin and leaf-like structures furnished with weak setae. The 1st to 4th legs bear two outer spines on the third segment of the exopod. The exopods of the male 5th legs are modified, endopods only slightly transformed. The five genera in the Ridgewayiidae are recorded in a variety of environments such as plankton, hyperbenthos, and epibenthos. The structure of the 1st to 4th legs, and in particular the size of the outer spines of the exopods, differ greatly among the genera and seem to reflect their different habitats.