Niphargus plurispinosus sp. n. (Crustacea, Amphipoda), a stygophile and hypotelminorheic representative from Central Europe

By

Hudec, Igor
Mock, Andrej

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2014

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

13

Pages

65-87

Subjects

Amphipoda , Carpathian region , Crustacea , Ecology , Morphology , Niphargus plurispinosus sp. n , Phenology , Slovakia , varia­bility

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.13.6531

 

Abstract

The detailed description of the morphology of Niphargus plurispinosus sp. n. from Slovakia is presented. Over 300 specimens were collected from a permanent seepage spring on repeated visits between May 2011 and May 2013. The type locality is located in the foothills of the Zemplínske vrchy mountains in the East Slovakian Lowland (NE part of Pannonian Lowland) - small, low and isolated hills formed during Neogene volcanic activity. Volcanic rocks draw together fragments of massives of Palaezoic and Mesozoic age as same as Neogene sediments. The new species can be classified as stygophile, living in the shallow subterranean habitat. The species has small subequal gnathopods, sexually dimorphic uropod III, sexually non-dimorphic uropod I in juveniles, dimorphic uropod 1 in adults. They are extremely different in the post-reproductive stage, when they have 2-4 dorsal spines (arranged in a transverse row) on the telson and supporting dorsal spines.