Peltomyzon rostratum n. gen., n. sp., a siphonostome cyclopoid copepod associated with the West Indian coral Montastraea

A new species representative of a new genus of Copepoda is described. It belongs to the subfamily Cletopontiinae of the family Asterocheridae (Cyclopoida siphonostoma). The new genus is chiefly characterized by the 2-segmented nature of the endopodites of legs 3 and 4, by the absence of an exopodite in the posterior antenna, and by the strongly developed tergum of the 2nd metasomite, giving the animal a shield-shaped appearance. Only the female sex of this copepod has been found; it is an associate of the hermatypic coral Montastraea cavernosa (L.) on the South coast of Curaçao (Netherlands’ Antilles), in depths from 4 to 40 meters.