Gateways to the underworld: molecular phylogenetic analyses identify patterns of groundwater fauna and two new species of hypogean Hyalella Smith, 1874 (Amphipoda, Hyalellidae) from the northern Mojave Desert

By

Cannizzaro, Andrew G.
Lange, Corey J.
Berg, David J.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-11-21

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

54

Pages

35--68

Subjects

Devils Hole , Hyalella cretae , Hyalella muerta , Nevada

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.54.168846

 

Abstract

<br> In North America, the genus<br> Hyalella<br> (Crustacea: Amphipoda) is primarily epigean, with only two described species found in groundwater. In contrast,<br> Stygobromus<br> is an amphipod genus occupying subterranean habitats throughout most of the Nearctic. Using both molecular and morphological traits, we describe two new species of stygobitic amphipods,<br> Hyalella plutonia<br> sp. nov.<br> and<br> Hyalella keepuikantun<br> sp. nov.<br> from groundwater habitats in Nye County, Nevada, USA. These species form a monophyletic group that also contains the similar<br> H. cretae<br> from Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Members of this “<br> H. cretae<br> ” complex are similar in terms of overall morphology but can be distinguished through examination of taxonomically relevant characters within the genus such as the third uropod, gnathopods, and pereopod 7. The description of these species highlights the unexpected diversity of stygobitic<br> Hyalella<br> within the northern Mojave Desert, where four such species comprise two independent lineages.<br> Stygobromus<br> is absent from these locations. This diversity of<br> Hyalella<br> is hypothesized to be due in part to the evolutionary history the genus and the ecological/climatic conditions of the region itself, which may exclude other more wide-ranging Nearctic stygobites like<br> Stygobromus<br> .<br>