Vol. 59, 2020

(update: 2020.07.08; 08.05)

Special Issue: Fossil and Modern Clam Shrimp (Branchiopoda: Spinicaudata, Laevicaudata)

Description of the First Leptestheria Species (Branchipoda, Spinicaudata) from Brazil

Mélanie Van Weddingen and Nicolas Rabet*

Sorbonne Université CNRS, Biologie des organismes et écosystèmes aquatiques (BOREA), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, CNRS, IRD, CP26 75231, 43 rue Cuvier Paris Cedex 05, France. *Correspondance: E-mail: nicolas.rabet@mnhn.fr (Rabet)
E-mail: melanie.van_weddingen@outlook.fr (Van Weddingen)

(Received 30 January 2020 / Accepted 10 June 2020)
Special issue (articles 32-46) communicated by Thomas A. Hegna and D. Christopher Rogers

Leptestheria (Spinicaudata: Leptestheriidae) was collected for the first time from Brazil. This species was found during a study on temporary pools in the municipality of Palmas de Monte Alto in Bahia state, which is in the Caatinga climatic zone. A morphological description of this new species is presented and compared with other known South American species. Our new species differs from the other described species by the form of the head and the telson. The associated fauna is comparable to what was observed by Gurney in 1931 in Paraguay or by Roessler in 1995 in Colombia, indicating possible connections between the dry regions of South America.

Key words: Bahia, Biogeography, Leptestheriidae, Morphology, Taxonomy.

Citation: Van Weddingen M, Rabet N. 2020. Description of the first Leptestheria species (Branchipoda, Spinicaudata) from Brazil. Zool Stud 59:40. doi:10.6620/ZS.2020.59-40.