A second species of Stenasellus Dollfus, 1897 (Isopoda, Stenasellidae) from sulfidic groundwater of Iran described using morphological and molecular methods
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: We report on a new species of Stenasellus Dollfus, 1897 (Isopoda, Stenasellidae) from groundwater of Iran. Stenasellus stygopersicus Jugovic, Malek-Hosseini & Issartel sp. nov. inhabits the Chah Kabootari Cave that is adjacent to the Tashan Cave, the type locality of the first recorded species of Stenasellidae from Iran, Stenasellus tashanicus Khalaji-Pirbalouty, Fatemi, Malek-Hosseini & Kuntner, 2018. Both caves are fed by sulfidic groundwater and belong to the Tashan-Chah Kabootari species-rich aquifer on the Zagros Mountains. Both species are characterized by a large body size (≥ 20 mm), a female-biased sexual size dimorphism, and a distinct black-pigmented Bellonci’s organ. Stenasellus stygopersicus differs from S. tashanicus by a short and wide protopodite of pleopod I, setae set essentially along the apical margin of pleopod I exopodite, the subequal length and width of the male pleopod II protopodite, and deeply bilobed endopodites of pleopods III–V. Molecular evidence suggests that while Stenasellus stygopersicus is sister to S. tashanicus, the species are genetically distinguishable, with divergence time estimates ranging from 23 to 39.8 Ma.
Source: European Journal of Taxonomy
Institutions: University of Primorska, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Lyon 1 Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État, Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, University of Hormozgan, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche
OpenAlex ID: W4404423788