Allocation of the Mantridae Leigh-Sharpe to the Cyclopoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) with notes on Nearchinotodelphys Ummerkutty

Mantra speciosa Leigh-Sharpe, 1934 (ex Poecilostomatoida), collected during the Siboga Expedition is redescribed on the basis of the holotype female. The 15-segmented antennule and the gnathostomous nature of the mouthparts exclude the Mantridae from the Poecilostomatoida and point to a relationship with the tunicate-infesting families Ascidicolidae, Notodelphyidae and Archinotodelphyidae (Cyclopoida). Nearchinotodelphys indicus Ummerkutty, 1960 (ex Archinotodelphyidae) is transferred to the Mantridae. It is suggested that the bivalveinhabiting mantrids have diverged from the ascidicolous lineage leading to the Notodelphyidae and Ascidicolidae.