Classification and Definition Cyclops is?

Cyclops are tiny crustaceans of the family Cyclopidae, also called water fleas. They are usually found in stagnant bodies of fresh water such as wells and ponds in poor agricultural communities in rural or periurban areas. In sub-Saharan Africa, India and Yemen they are the intermediate hosts of guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis, a parasite that causes guinea-worm disease or dracunculiasis. The disease is transmitted to humans when they drink water containing infected cyclops.

Guinea-worm disease is rarely fatal but is severely debilitating. The lower limbs are most commonly affected but the worms, which are up to a metre in length, can emerge from any part of the body. There are no drugs to treat the disease but highly effective and simple preventive measures are available. Most countries where it is endemic have adopted a programme aimed at eradication through such measures as, for instance, supplying safe drinking-water. Several countries have already made dramatic progress: the disease was eliminated from Pakistan in 1996, after seven years of concentrated efforts and in India the number of cases was reduced by more than 99% between 1995 and 1984. Worldwide, the incidence of the disease fell from 3.5 million in 1986 to approximately 122 000 in 1995.

Classification Cyclops

Order Cyclopoida

Family Cyclopidae

Genus Acanthocyclops

Genus Cyclops

Genus Diacyclops

Genus Eucyclops

Genus Macrocyclops

Genus Mesocyclops

Genus Orthocyclops

Genus Paracyclops

Genus Tropocyclops

Cladoceran zooplankton genera/species found in 92 Sudbury Region lakes from 1990 to 2004 (by Martyn Futter – DESC, 2002; updated by Julie Leduc, 2004)

Recent taxonomic changes

1. Eucyclops neomacruroides and Eucyclops speratus (order Cyclopoida) are now called Eucyclops elegans (Hudson et al., 1998)

2. Eucyclops serrulatus (order Cyclopoida) is now called Eucyclops agilis (Torke, 1976)

3. several species comprise what is termed the Acanthocyclops vernalis complex (order

Cyclopoida). According to Hudson et al. (1998), the only members found in Ontario that

can be positively differentiated are Acanthocyclops brevispinosus and Acanthocyclops robustus.

4. Tropocyclops prasinus mexicanus (order Cyclopoida) is now called Tropocyclops extensus (Dussart and Fernando, 1990)

Taxa listed in the EMRB zooplankton database sorted by genus, updating taxonomic distinction (by Robert Girard - DESC) (Note that changes are highlighted in bold italics and that shaded species are those found within the Sudbury Region)