Amsterdam Expeditions to the West Indian Islands, Report 20. The genus Heterocypris (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in the West Indies. Part I. Taxonomic characters

A redescription is provided of Heterocypris margaritae Margalef, 1961 (= H. similis Klie, 1933). H. antillensis n. sp., a species closely related to H. margaritae, is described. Taxonomic remarks are made on H. punctata Keyser, 1975, a species from Florida, which also inhabits part of the Caribbean islands and is related to both other species. Descriptions of chaetotaxy were made according to the system of Broodbakker & Danielopol (1982) and form an example of the use of this system. Carapace length seems to be a very variable character in this genus and must be used as a taxonomic character with great caution. The structure of the hemipenis seems to be a very valuable taxonomic character, as are the furca and maxillular palp and to a lesser degree the male maxilla. The form of the carapace seems to be quite characteristic of each species, but is more difficult to define and compare when material for comparison is not at hand and other characters are not provided.