ZIP code matters: Nicsmirnovius paggii, a new species from fitzpatriki-complex (Cladocera: Chydoridae) does not co-occur with Nicsmirnovius incredibilis

ABSTRACT

The literature indicates that Nicsmirnovius fitzpatricki represents a species complex and that populations outside the type region (Florida, USA) may represent other taxa. As a result of the comparison of South American populations to the original N. fitzpatricki redescription, we described Nicsmirnovius paggii sp. nov.. Species separation was supported by limb characters, especially by the presence of a sensillum in endite 3 of the first limb, in the armature of the gnathobase of the second and fifth limbs, and in the setae of the distal endite of the third limb. Body shape, postabdomen, antenna and antennules are similar to N. fitzpatricki, which makes it difficult to correctly distinguish these species based exclusively on external characters. The male is also described, and this is the second time a male of this genus has had its morphology studied. Ecological aspects also differ from another Nicsmirnovius species, since the occurrence of N. paggii sp. nov. is not associated with bottom sediments. Lastly, the morphology of N. paggii sp. nov. was shown to be very different from the Amazonian Nicsmirnovius incredibilis. After redescription, we concluded that N. incredibilis is a specialized species endemic to the middle and lower portion of the Amazonas River Basin.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:20679EB4-FC46-4FAA-B54B-5B8299FB828C

KEYWORDS:

• Amazonas River Basin
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Colombia
• roots

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Grupo de Estudos de Ecossistemas Aquáticos (GEEA) for field work assistance. We thank Professor Juan C. Paggi for donation of material from Argentina. We also thank Dr Marcelo M. Dallosto and Dr Alexandre V. Palaoro for comments on initial draft. The authors thank Dr Alexey A. Kotov and an anonymous reviewer for the valuable suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental Material

Supplementary material for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by Fundo Nacional do Meio Ambiente (FNMA) (Process 02000.005571/2005-89).