Vol. 63, 2024

(update: 2024.9.10)

A New Species of Elpidium (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Bromeliad and Non-bromeliad Phytotelmata in the Northeast of Argentina

Analía R. Díaz^1,*, Raúl E. Campos

, and Koen Martens^2,3

¹Instituto de Limnología “Dr. R.A. Ringuelet”, CCT-CONICET-La Plata, UNLP. Buenos Aires, Argentina. *Correspondence:E-mail: analiadiaz@ilpla.edu.ar (Díaz)
²Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Natural Environments, Freshwater Biology, Vautierstraat 29, Brussels 1000, Belgium. E-mail: darwinula@gmail.com (Martens)
³Ghent University, Department of Biology, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

(Received 16 December 2022 / Accepted 8 August 2024 / Published -- 2024)
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

A new species of the ostracod genus Elpidium (Timiriaseviinae), a group almost exclusively known from Neotropical bromeliad phytotelmata, is here described and illustrated from the northeast of Argentina. Elpidium chacoense n. sp. represents the first record of the genus in this country and brings the total of described Elpidium species to 19. In view of the recently increased knowledge on the distribution of the species in this Neotropical genus, we discuss potential drivers of speciation that might have led to the high (endemic) diversity of the group: allopatry in bromeliad islands, sexual selection and putative co-evolution between ostracod and bromeliad species. We also point out the biogeographical relevance of the present records, which are amongst the most southern of the genus. Finally, also the fact that species of Elpidium can now also be found in non-bromeliad phytotelmata is of relevance.

Key words: Non-marine Ostracoda, New species, Neotropical Cytheridae, Phytotelmata, Argentina

Citation: Díaz AR, Campos RE, Martens K. 2024. A new species of Elpidium (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from bromeliad and non-bromeliad phytotelmata in the northeast of Argentina. Zool Stud 63:45.

We follow the code of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, taxonomic papers with new species/genus descriptions will not have early view version.