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A drawing by Giesbrecht (1892) of the Copepoda, Sapphirina auronitens Claus, 1863

A drawing by Giesbrecht (1892) of the Copepoda, Sapphirina auronitens Claus, 1863

Co·pe·pod
n (Kope = Greek for "oar" Podos = Greek for "foot"). Hence Copepod = oar-footed, referring to the pair of swimming legs on the same somite that are moved together, like the oars of a sculling shell.

The Five Databases

The World of Copepods consists of five databases. These are…

  • Bibliography of All Known Copepod and Branchiura Literature
  • Taxonomic List of Copepod and Branchiura Genera and Species
  • Copepod and Branchiura Researchers of the World
  • Copepod and Branchiura Specimen Holdings of Invertebrate Zoology
  • Copepod and Branchiura Genera with Synonymies

What is a copepod?

These aquatic crustaceans are very diverse and are the most numerous metazoans in the water community ("metazoan" means all multi-celled animals). Copepod habitats range from fresh water to hypersaline conditions, from subterranean caves to water collected in bromeliad leaves or leaf litter on the ground and from streams, rivers, and lakes to the sediment layer in the open ocean. Their habitats also range from the highest mountains to the deepest ocean trenches and from the cold polar ice-water interface to the hot active hydrothermal vents. Copepods may be free-living, symbiotic, or internal or external parasites on almost every phylum of animals in water. The usual length of adults is 1-2 mm, but adults of some species may be as short as 0.2mm and others may be as long as 10mm. Ecologically they are important links in the food chain linking microscopic algal cells to juvenile fish to whales. Copepods also have the potential to act as control mechanisms for malaria by consuming mosquito larvae, and contrariwise are intermediate hosts of many human and animal parasites. Branchiura (commonly referred to as sea lice) are also included with the Copepoda, since many copepod researchers also study these parasites of fish.

For an introduction to the history of the study of copepods go to Damkaer's History

What does a copepod look like. Well here are a couple of CLSM images of copepods taken by Dr. Jan Michels, Alfred Wegener Institute and Dr. Olga Lévai, Leica Microsytems GmbH, Germany.

AlteuthaCeratonotus

The Subclass Copepoda consists 10 Orders:

  1. Calanoida
  2. Cyclopoida
  3. Gelyelloida
  4. Harpacticoida
  5. Misophrioida
  6. Monstrilloida
  7. Mormonilloida
  8. Platycopioida
  9. Poecilostomatoida*
  10. Siphonostomatoida

There are over 240 described families, 2,600 genera and over 21,000 described species (both valid and invalid, including senior and junior synonyms)

*Poecilostomatoida [Boxshall & Halsey, 2004: 37, suggested placing it into Cyclopoida]

The Class Branchiura comprises 1 Family (Argulidae) and 4 Genera

  1. Argulus
  2. Chonopeltis
  3. Dipteropeltis
  4. Dolops

The Wilson Copepod Library

The bibliographic database was developed and is maintained by staff of the C.B. Wilson Copepod library, and contains all the known literature for copepods and branchiurans. Currently, over 52,000 bibliographic entries on copepods are in the database. Current staff members organizing the day to day operations of this Library are T. Chad Walter, Frank D. Ferrari, and Lana Ong. Janet Reid also provides significant input into this web site. We would like to acknowledge the help of our college interns Audrey Riojas, Samantha Smiley, Katherine Huebner, and Caitlin Markey for her help in inventorying and relabeling the reprints during 2007-2008. We gratefully accept donations of literature on all aspects of the Copepoda, and request that you send us a copy of all your future publications.

Also check Researchers page and see if your data is correct and send us any updates.

Please send your reprints to:

Wilson Copepod Library
Smithsonian Institution
Department Of Invertebrate Zoology
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 163
Washington, DC 20013-7012

Techniques Used In Processing Copepods for Taxonomic Study

This page provides researchers with various techniques used in the taxonomic study of copepods. Topics range from initial treatment of specimens at time of collection, to staining and media for microscopic examination and permanent preparation for long term storage. This information is provided for informational purposes and no endorsements are implied.

COMING SOON: SPRING 2008 WILL BE THE LAUNCH OF A NEW MODIFIED SITE THAT WILL INCLUDE PDF FILES OF THE TAXONOMIC 3x5 CARDS FROM THE WILSON COPEPOD LIBRARY. THESE CARDS LIST ALL THE COPEPOD SPECIES AND WHICH AUTHORS PUBLISHED ON THEM OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS.

Copepod Links

To subscribe to the Copepod List Serve and join in discussions of strategic and key issues in the wide range of copepod research, send an email message with your name and address to:
copepoda@listas.usp.br

Below are a few other sites dealing with Copepods:
[Use your web search engines and search on copepod* for additional sites.]

Any comments, corrections, additions or
deletions should be directed to:

Database Manager
T. Chad Walter
phone 202-633-0677
fax 202-357-3043
walterc@si.edu

This page was lasted updated April 15, 2008

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