Tethysbaena ledoyeri n. sp., a new thermosbaenacean species (Thermosbaenacea) from the Port-Miou karstic aquifer in southern France

H. p. Wagner (1) , P. Chevaldonne (2)

1 Leiden University
2 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale

A new species of the thermosbaenacean genus Tethysbaena Wagner,1994 is described as T. ledoyeri n. sp. Together with an as yet undescribed amphipod (Niphargus sp.) it is an inhabitant of the brackish water of an aquifer that flows through the Basse-Provence Urgonian karstic system and reaches the Mediterranean Sea, 15 km east of Marseille, in the “Calanques” coast. The new taxon, being part of the T. argentarii-group, is compared with its closest allies in this group. Preliminary DNA data obtained from two specimens of the new species provide confirmation of its close ties to T. argentarii but also to T. scabra, the two geographically closest described species.

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Biodiversity and Ecology

H. p. Wagner, P. Chevaldonne. Tethysbaena ledoyeri n. sp., a new thermosbaenacean species (Thermosbaenacea) from the Port-Miou karstic aquifer in southern France. Crustaceana, 2020, 93 (7), pp.819-841. ⟨10.1163/15685403-bja10068⟩. ⟨hal-02947697⟩