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Systematics Of The Cumacea (Crustacea), Pilar A. Haye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cumaceans are small benthic crustaceans. They have a marine cosmopolitan distribution with diversity increasing with depth. There are approximately 1,400 described species of cumaceans. Despite the fact that they offer a good model for the study of morphological evolution and biogeography, the studies on the Order Cumacea are almost restricted to work at the alpha taxonomy level. This thesis contributes to the systematics of Cumacea. The phylogenetic relationships within the Cumacea were studied using newly obtained partial amino acid sequences from the mitochondria1 gene Cytochrome Oxidase I. Among other findings, phylogenetic analyses revealed that the families Bodotriidae, Leuconidae, and Nannastacidae, …