New geographic records of Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, Iran

Abstract

The meiobenthic harpacticoids of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman has been almost unknown. During October 2014 to September 2016, interstitial and phytal harpacticoids were collected from tide pools in 30 different localities along the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The new information on the distribution of 26 species and 12 families is provided, here. The most species-rich family was Laophontidae with seven species, followed by Miraciidae with four species. In this paper, all the species were considered new records for the area. Furthermore, the first checklist of meiobenthic Harpacticoids is provided.