A new Acanthocyclops Kiefer, 1927 (Cyclopoida: Cyclopinae) from an ecological reserve in Mexico City

A new species of Acanthocyclops is decribed from an Ecological Reserve in Mexico City. Acanthocyclops eduardoi sp. nov. was assigned as a member of the Acanthocyclops vernalisrobustus complex and it differs from its congeners by a combination of characters including 17 segmented antennules, the ornamentation of spinules on the ventral and dorsal surface of caudal ramus, a short dorsal seta (0.470.56), an elongated third segment of endopodite of fourth leg (length/width 3.103.80) and, the length/width ratio of caudal ramus ranging from 4.30 to 4.35. The male of A. eduardoi sp. nov. shows a unique ornamentation pattern on the coxal plate of the fourth leg. The new species resembles other species such as Acanthocyclops marceloi, Acanthocyclops caesariatus, Acanthocyclops brevispinosus, Acanthocyclops trajani and Acanthocyclops einslei. The number of species of the genus in the Mexican Plateau is increased so the diversity of the genus in this biogeographic province may be underestimated and deserves further study.