Neocalanus

Neocalanus is a genus of marine copepods. They are a dominant component of the open water ecosystems of the northern Pacific Ocean. Neocalanus are large copepods, reaching body lengths (i.e., prosome length) of more than 8 mm in Neocalanus plumchrus.

Species
There are six species: • Neocalanus cristatus (Krøyer, 1848)

• Neocalanus flemingeri Miller, 1988

• Neocalanus gracilis (Dana, 1852)

• Neocalanus plumchrus (Marukawa, 1921)

• Neocalanus robustior (Giesbrecht, 1888)

• Neocalanus tonsus (Brady, 1883)

Neocalanus flemingeri
Neocalanus flemingeri is predominantly annual, with a significant fraction of biennials in some areas. The largest females reach prosome length of about 5 mm; males are smaller.

Trophic interactions
Neocalanus are important food items for many predators, such as North Pacific right whale and least auklet.