Temora (crustacean)
Temora is a genus of copepods in the family Temoridae. The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species:
- Temora discaudata Giesbrecht, 1889
- Temora kerguelensis Wolfenden, 1911
- Temora longicornis
- Temora stylifera
- Temora turbinata
Taxonomy
Temora was originally described by Scottish physician and zoologist William Baird in his 1850 work The Natural History of the British Entomostraca. The genus was named for the palace of ancient Irish kings in James Macpherson's Ossian cycle of poems, published in the prior century. Baird's description was based on specimens preserved in spirits, as he never collected a living specimen. The type locality was the coast of Ireland.In 1881, Prussian zoologist Wilhelm Giesbrecht proposed dividing the genus into Halitemora and Eurytemora , listing differences in morphology as well as habitat. Halitemora is not currently accepted as valid, but a number of species previously included in Temora have been moved to Eurytemora:Temora affinis Poppe, 1880 and Temora inermis Boeck, 1865 Temora clausii Hoek, 1878 and Temora velox Lilljeborg, 1853
Description
Baird's original description of the genus is as follows:Specimens collected range from 0.6 to 2.1 mm. With the possible exception of T. kerguelensis, which is known from few specimens and has no published figures, the fifth leg pair is asymmetrical in all Temora species.