Distribution of Stenasellidae in Africa and description of a new species of Metastenasellus from Cameroonian groundwaters

By

Pountougnigni, Oumarou Farikou
Piscart, Christophe
Sob Nangou, Paul Bertrand
Zebaze Togouet, Serge Hubert

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

40

Pages

175--194

Subjects

Biogeography , integrative taxonomy , Isopoda , stygofauna , tropical Africa

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.40.76301

 

Abstract

During recent investigations of the groundwater fauna of Cameroon, specimens of a new species of the stygobitic genus Metastenasellus, M. boutini sp. nov. were collected in wells of the city of Douala. The new species can be easily distinguished from the other species of the genus by its relatively large size (up to 11 mm), pleonite 1 and 2 half the length of pereonite 7, the shape of pleopod 2 in males (presence of an external lobe on the protopodite, distal part of the spermatic duct slightly protruding out of the second article, lack of a distal seta on the exopodite), and uropod half the length of the pleotelson. Ecological data and a key to Metastenasellus species are provided. We also performed an exhaustive analysis of the literature on Stenasellidae in Africa to study the geographical distribution of the family in this continent and discuss some hypotheses about the origin of African species.