Post-Embryonic Development of the Copepoda

Crustaceans that are now called copepods have been known, not necessarily by that name, since Aristotle. Published reports of their post-embryonic development, however, date only from the last 250 years. This monograph is a first attempt to gather all published information about copepod post-embryonic development. Careful diagnoses of nauplius and copepodid allow comparisons of specific developmental stages among species. Changes from the last naupliar stage to the first copepodid stage are used to interpret the naupliar body. Body and limb patterning are discussed, and models of limb patterning are used to generate segment homologies for the protopod and both rami. Contributions of post-embryonic development to phylogenetic hypotheses are considered and suggestions for future studies are provided.