Some like it hot: Phallocryptus fahimii sp. n. (Crustacea: Anostraca: Thamnocephalidae) from the Lut desert, the hottest place on Earth

Abstract

We describe Phallocryptus fahimii sp. n., the fifth species in the genus, based on combined morphological and molecular genetic analyses. It is endemic to Iran and known only from its type locality in the Lut desert. The Lut desert has been designated the “Thermal pole of the Earth” with surface temperatures reaching up to 78.2°C. Shallow, ephemeral pools are filled by seasonal floods deriving from spring precipitations. Phallocryptus fahimii sp. n. is most closely related to the Mongolian P. tserensodnomi Alonso & Ventura, 2013. Males can be differentiated based on the relatively long frontal organ, the strong curvature of the labral distal process and the usual lack of a ventrolateral spine of the genital segment.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8F773751-A2D0-47DA-A8CD-0BB724EECB13

Keywords:

• Branchiopoda
• COI
• cryptic diversity
• Desert Lut
• integrative taxonomy

Acknowledgements

This paper is a part of the results of the project “Adaptation and Function of Lut Desert Biodiversity” (AFLDB), coordinated by the Saeedi Institute for Advanced Studies (SIAS), University of Kashan and University of Tehran. We thank to the coordinators of this project, Dr. Reza Mansouri and Dr. Hossein Akhani. We are deeply grateful to Mr. Bahman Izadi and other researchers in the Lut Expeditions for their valuable help, support and sharing their knowledge. We further thank the editor Dr. Max Kasparek for his fast processing of the manuscript as well as one anonymous reviewer and Dr. D. Christopher Rogers for their detailed and very helpful comments and suggestions. Last, but not least, we thank the logistic team for their high quality and fantastic execution during the fieldwork in the Lut desert. Thanks to Milan Pallman (Stuttgart) for photography of the specimens and GEO for allowing reproducing the map.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.