A checklist of the marine Calanoida (Crustacea, copepoda) of Nigeria.

Abstract

This paper is based on analysis of a total of 725 zooplankton samples collected during series of surveys of the marine ecosystem of the continental shelf along the Nigeria Gulf of Guinea, between 1999 and 2010. The list encompasses a total of 55 species of Calanoida in 14 families and 27 genera. At the genus level, the family Calanidae was the most diverse (4 genera), followed by Aetideidae and Calocalanidae each with 3 genera. The most speciose family was the Candaciidae (8 species), followed by the Acartiidae, Calanidae, Eucalanidae and Paracalanidae each with 5 species. Of the 55 species, 9 species in 7 genera are recognised for the first time in Nigeria marine ecosystem. Most of the species recorded in this study have previously been reported along the West Coast of Africa.

Key Words: Marine, Calanoida, Nigeria.