CYCLOPINAE Kiefer, 1927


MICROCYCLOPS Claus, 1893 (syn. Cryptocyclops Sars G.O., 1927 )


The genus Microcyclops presently includes more than 70 named species and subspecies, living in fresh waters, marshes, swamps, only a few occurring in ground waters.

The taxonomy of the genus is rather confused and there are many species inadequately described (Mirabdullayev & Urazova, 2006).


  • Microcyclops afghanicus Lindberg, 1948 [Afghanistan; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops alius Kiefer, 1935 [central and south America; lakes, marshes, lotic water bodies]
  • Microcyclops anceps anceps (Richard, 1897) [central and south America; fresh waters, marshes]
  • Microcyclops anceps pauxensis Herbst, 1962 [Brazil, Venezuela; fresh waters, lakes]
  • Microcyclops anceps var. minor Dussart, 1984 [Venezuela; lakes] (= Microcyclops minor Dussart, 1984)
  • Microcyclops arenicola Kiefer, 1960 [Africa; fresh, interstitial waters]
  • Microcyclops assimilis (Sars G.O., 1927)
  • Microcyclops atongae Fryer, 1957 [Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops attenuatus (Sars G.O., 1909)
  • Microcyclops bicolor bicolor (Sars G.O., 1863)
  • Microcyclops bicolor breviramus Fryer, 1957
  • Microcyclops bicolor transactor Plesa, 1981
  • Microcyclops caudatus (Sars G.O., 1927)
  • Microcyclops ceibaensis (Marsh, 1920) [central and south America; fresh waters,lakes, marshes]
  • Microcyclops crassipes (G.O. Sars, 1927) [south Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops cunningtoni (G.O. Sars, 1909) [Tanganika; lakes]
  • Microcyclops davidi davidi (Chappuis, 1922) [Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops davidi var. subtropicus (Lindberg, 1937) [India, Yemen; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops diaphanus (Fischer, 1853)
  • Microcyclops diversus Kiefer, 1935 [central and south America; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops dubitabilis Kiefer, 1934 [central and south America; fresh waters,cenotes]
  • Microcyclops echinatus Fiers, Ghenne & Suarez-Morales, 2000 [Mexico, Yucatan; lagoons]
  • Microcyclops elegans Dussart & Fernando, 1985 [Sri Lanka; fresh waters] ***
  • Microcyclops elgonensis Kiefer, 1932 [Kenya, Congo; fresh watres] *
  • Microcyclops elongatus (Lowndes, 1934) [Brazil, Paraguay; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops exiguus (Sars G.O., 1909)
  • Microcyclops exulis Gauthier, 1951 [Senegal; fresh waters] *
  • Microcyclops falsus (Kiefer, 1929)
  • Microcyclops finitimus Dussart, 1984 [south America; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops fuerborni Kiefer, 1933 [Java; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops furcatus (Daday, 1905) [Paraguay; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops gemellus Gurney, 1928
  • Microcyclops inarmatus Gutiérrez-Aguirre & Cervantes-Martínez, 2016
  • Microcyclops inchoatus Shen & Sung, 1965
  • Microcyclops indolusitanus Lindberg, 1938 [India; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops inopinatus (G.O. Sars, 1927) [south Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops intermedius Shen & Tai, 1964
  • Microcyclops javanus Kiefer, 1930
  • Microcyclops jenkinae Lowndes, 1933 [Africa; lakes]
  • Microcyclops karvei Kiefer & Moorthy, 1935 [Asia; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops levis (Kiefer, 1952)
  • Microcyclops linjanticus (Kiefer, 1928)
  • Microcyclops longiarticulatus Shen & Tai, 1964
  • Microcyclops longiramus Shen & Sung, 1965 [China; fresh waters]

  • Microcyclops longispinosus Shen & Tai, 1964 [China; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops mediasetosus Dussart & Frutos, 1985 [Argentina; brackish waters]
  • Microcyclops medius Dussart & Frutos, 1986[Argentina; rivers] (left)
  • Microcyclops microsetus Yeatman, 1983 [Fiji; crab holes]
  • Microcyclops minimus Kiefer, 1930 [Sumatra; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops moghulensis Lindberg, 1939 [India, Sri Lanka; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops nyasae (Fryer, 1957) (taxon inquirendum)
  • Microcyclops obscuratus Fryer, 1956 [Africa; fresh, ground waters]
  • Microcyclops pachycomus (G.O. Sars, 1909) [Africa; lakes, rivers]
  • Microcyclops pachyspina Lindberg, 1937 [Asia; fresh waters] *

  • Microcyclops paraplesius (Kiefer, 1929) [Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops pseudo-anceps Green, 1962 [Africa; fresh waters] (=Metacyclops pseudoanceps (Green, 1962)
  • Microcyclops pseudo-opercularis Lindberg, 1957 [Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops pumilis Pennak & Ward, 1985 [USA; hyporheic]
  • Microcyclops raynerae Minisi & Dippenaar, 2019 [Souh Africa]
  • Microcyclops rechtyae Lindberg, 1960 [Aghanistan; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops richardi Lindberg, 1942 [Iran; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops robustus Shen & Sung, 1965 [China; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops rubellus (Lilljeborg, 1901)
  • Microcyclops rubelloides rubelloides Kiefer, 1952 [Zaire; lakes]
  • Microcyclops rubelloides opercularis Kiefer, 1952 [Zaire; lakes]
  • Microcyclops rubelloides f. major Dussart, 1977 [Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops rubellus (Lilljeborg, 1901) [cosmopolitan, except Australia?; fresh waters, cenotes]
  • Microcyclops sanfilippoi Brian, 1951 [Italy; cave waters] *
  • Microcyclops semilunaris Lindberg, 1952 [Asia; fresh waters ]
  • Microcyclops symoensi (Kiefer, 1956)
  • Microcyclops sumatranus Kiefer, 1930 [Sumatra; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops subaequalis (Kiefer, 1928)
  • Microcyclops sydneyensis (Schmeil, 1896) [Australia; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops tanganicae Gurney, 1928
  • Microcyclops tricolor Lindberg, 1937 [India; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops triumvirorum Kiefer, 1935
  • Microcyclops uenoi Kiefer, 1937 [China, Formosa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops uviranus (Kiefer, 1958)
  • Microcyclops vaillanti Lindberg, 1957 [Africa; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops variabilis Dussart & Sarnita, 1986 [Indonesie; swamps] **
  • Microcyclops variabilis rubellus Monchenko, 1988
  • Microcyclops varicans varicans (G.O. Sars, 1863) [cosmopolitan; fresh and brackish water bodies, springs]
  • Microcyclops varicans bitaenia Fryer, 1957 [Africa; lakes]
  • Microcyclops varicans furcatus (Daday, 1905)
  • Microcyclops varicans f. dojranensis Petkovski, 1954 [Yugoslavie; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops varicans f. minor Kiefer, 1952 [Zaire; lakes] (=Microcyclops minor Dussart 1984)
  • Microcyclops varicans pachyspina Lindberg, 1937 [India; fresh waters]
  • Microcyclops varicans subaequalis (Kiefer, 1928) [Africa; south America, Asia; fresh waters, lakes]


    * questionable species

    ** for this species Dussart & Sarnita (1986) suggested the creation of a a new subgenus, Mediocyclops.

    *** colud be synonym of Microcyclops rechtyae (Mirabdullayev, 1998)


    | MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS FOR TAXONOMY OF THE GENUS MICROCYCLOPS |

    Walter, T.C.; Boxshall, G. (2021). World of Copepods database. Microcyclops Claus, 1893. Accessed at: http://www.marinespecies.org/copepoda/


    MIXOCYCLOPS Kiefer, 1944


  • Mixocyclops crozetensis Kiefer, 1944 [Crozet Island; fresh waters]
  • Mixocyclops minutus Chappuis, 1952 [Tasmania; fresh waters]
  • Mixocyclops mortoni Tang & Knott, 2009 [Western Australia; ground waters]



    MUSCOCYCLOPS Kiefer, 1937


  • Muscocyclops bidentatus Reid, 1987 [Brazil; wet campos]
  • Muscocyclops operculatus (Chappuis, 1917) [Surinam, Brazil; fresh waters, moss]
  • Muscocyclops therasiae Reid, 1987 [Brazil; marshes, wet campos] (left)


  • NEUTROCYCLOPS Kiefer, 1936


  • Neutrocyclops brevifurca (Lowndes, 1934) [Yucatan, south America; fresh waters, lakes, ponds]




    ORBUSCYCLOPS Karanovic, 2006

    Very small Cyclopinae genus, with slender, harpacticoida habitus, and greatest body width at midlength of cephalotorax.



  • Orbuscyclops westaustraliensis Karanovic, 2006 [Australia; river bore]

  • MONCHENKOCYCLOPS Karanovic et al., 2012

    "Monchenkocyclops was created to include four, then five morphologically very closely related species of Acanthocyclops. The members of the genus can only be distinguished from each other mostly by the minor differences such as the relative lengths of different armature elements (Karanovic et al. 2012)".

  • Monchenkocyclops changi Karanovic et al., 2012 [Korea; subterranean waters]
  • Monchenkocyclops mehmetadami Karaytug et al, 2018[Turkey; hyporheic]
  • Monchenkocyclops mirabdullayevi Karanovic et al., 2012 [Kazakhstan; subterranean waters]
  • Monchenkocyclops biarticulatus (Monchenko 1972) [URSS; ground waters]
  • Monchenkocyclops biwensis (Ishida, 2005) [Japan; Lake Biwa]


    OLMECCYCLOPS Fiers, 2011

  • Olmeccyclops veracruzanus [Mexico;bromeliads] (Suarez Morales et al. 2010)
  • Olmeccyclops hondo Fiers & Jocque, 2013 [Honduras; cloud forest mountain]


    VIRBIOCYCLOPS Fiers, 2011

    "Virbiocyclops is reminiscent of Allocyclops in so far that it still possesses the inner element on the proximal exopodite segments of legs 1–3, has a fully equipped mandibular palp, an antennary exopodite remnant seta, and a male leg 6 with only two armament elements (the first three to be considered as plesiomorphic, the last one as apomorphic). Nevertheless, based on the nature of leg 5, Virbiocyclops is situated among the genera Stolonicyclops, Psammocyclops and Olmeccyclops.

    Yet, Virbiocyclops appears to be most closely related to Hesperocyclops as manifested by the presence of the particular outgrowths (additional process in leg 1, conspicuously erected triangular ones in legs 2–4) on the medial border of the basis of the legs. Moreover, habitus and body ornament, caudal rami, anal operculum and the morphology of the buccal appendages are similar in both Virbiocyclops and Hesperocyclops, demonstrating the sister-group relationship between these genera" (from Fiers, 2011)

  • Virbiocyclops silvaticus (Rocha & Bjornberg, 1988) [Brazil: leafs litters cultures]





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