Limnocythere curvispinosa sp. nov. (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from two ancient lakes in the Xiaojiang Fault zone, Yunnan Province, southwestern China

By

Jiang, Ping
Wang, Qianwei
Ge, Dingkuan
Xie, Manping
Duan, Lizeng
Fan, Jiawei
Zhai, Dayou

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-12-2

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

101

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

2369--2386

Subjects

Cytheroidea , Fuxian Lake , Paleontology , taxonomy , Yangzong Lake

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.168416

 

Abstract

<br> Ancient lakes often harbor endemic species that are invaluable for studying adaptive radiation and speciation. In Yunnan Province, southwestern China, a number of ancient lakes emerged as a result of Cenozoic tectonic activities. Within these lakes, ostracods constitute a crucial component of the ecosystems, yet they remain poorly studied. Here, we describe<br> Limnocythere curvispinosa<br> sp. nov.<br> (Limnocytheridae Sars, 1925) from Fuxian and Yangzong Lakes in east-central Yunnan. This new species belongs to the<br> L. stationis<br> group based on its posteriorly inclined dorsal valve margin and the reduced seventh limb. It can be distinguished from other species in this group by the three long, curved dorsal spines on the right valve, the small antero-dorsal spine on the left valve, and the unique morphology of the hemipenis. Our data indicate that<br> Limnocythere curvispinosa<br> sp. nov.<br> colonized Yangzong Lake by the Early Holocene at the latest, but it is uncertain if it still occurs there today. Some females and a few males of this species still live in Fuxian Lake. Together,<br> Limnocythere curvispinosa<br> sp. nov.<br> ,<br> Limnocythere xinanensis<br> Zhao, 1987, and another undescribed but closely related species represent a small evolutionary lineage within the<br> L. stationis<br> group that has inhabited southwestern China since the Early Pleistocene.<br>