Freshwater harpacticoids (Crustacea: Copepoda: Harpacticoida) in Norway – a comprehensive contribution from G.O. Sars, and a provisional checklist

Since the pioneering works of the Norwegian biologist G.O. Sars, little attention has been given to the freshwater harpacticoids in Norway. The prime purpose of this paper is to present the state of current knowledge about the Norwegian freshwater harpacticoid fauna based on all known published and unpublished literature and archive material. We highlight the contribution of G.O. Sars to the knowledge of this group by presenting his remaining unpublished archive material. We present two Norwegian species checklists – one for freshwater harpacticoids (16 species) and another for freshwater-associated/brackish-water harpacticoids (nine species). Four of the freshwater harpacticoid species are described by G.O. Sars. Original unpublished plates with drawings of those species are included in the paper. In addition, an overview of species distributions throughout the country is given.