Redescription of the stygobitic shrimp Troglocaris (Xiphocaridinella) jusbaschjani Birštein, 1948 (Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae) from Agura River, Sochi, Russia, with remarks on other representatives of the genus from Caucasus
Author
Marin, Ivan
Author
Sokolova, Agniya
text
Zootaxa
2014
3754
3
277
298
journal article
46663
10.11646/zootaxa.3754.3.3
cefee2dc-e89e-47a7-becb-d070f10421c1
1175-5326
228220
F6749B0E-1F58-4B02-BFB1-5D1564B201A4
Troglocaris
(
Xiphocaridinella
)
fagei
(
Birštein, 1939
)
(
Figs. 13
,
14
)
Troglocaris schmidti fagei
Birštein, 1939
: 964
, figs. 3 [
type
locality: New Athos Cave, Abkhazia].
Material examined.
10 non-ovigerous females,
2 males
, Abkhazia,
43°5'44"N
40°48'53"E
, New Athos (Novo- Afonskaya) Cave,
Anatolia
Lake in the first lake of the cave, coll. E. Chertoprud & D. Palatov
October 2011
.
Measurements.
The largest female has tbl.—
31 mm
, pcl.—
15 mm
; the largest male has tbl.—
22 mm
, pcl.—
13 mm
.
Remarks.
The examined adult specimens show variation in rostral length and form of supraorbital teeth (see
Fig. 14
). Rostrum mostly smooth, with completely reduced dorsal teeth, but in some specimens 1 or 2 tiny dorsal teeth may present; the rostral length greatly vary from long and getting distally thin rostrum overreaching the distal margin of basal antennular segment (
Fig. 14
a, b
) to short triangular rostrum reaching the midlength of basal antennular segment (
Fig. 14
e–h
); supraocular teeth also showing variation from well developed (
Fig. 14
d) to poorly developed from one side (
Fig. 14
f
) and complete absence of both teeth (
Fig. 14
b
). Such variations easily cover morphological difference between
Troglocaris
(
Xiphocaridinella
)
fagei
(
Birštein, 1939
)
(present paper,
Figs. 13
,
14
) and
Troglocaris
(
Xiphocaridinella
)
ablaskiri
(
Birštein, 1939
)
(
Birštein, 1948:
Fig. 2
) known from Abraskila Cave, or Achkshe-Tyz-Gua Cave, situated less than
100 km
east from New Athon Cave suggesting that they are possibly conspecific. Rostral form and its armature were used by
Birštein (1939: 965)
as the main morphological features for separation of these species. Anyway, during the present study we have no fresh material from the
type
locality of
Troglocaris
(
Xiphocaridinella
)
ablaskiri
(
Birštein, 1939
)
for morphological and DNA analysis to confirm or refute this hypothesis.
Distribution.
The species is known exclusively from cave lakes inside New Athos (Novo-Afonskaya) or Psyrtskha Cave, Abkhazia (see
Fig. 16
).