Leptestheria cristata, Garcia, Jose Vicente & Pereira, Guido, 2003

Garcia, Jose Vicente & Pereira, Guido, 2003, A review of the clam shrimp family Leptestheriidae (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Spinicaudata) from Venezuela, with descriptions of two new species, Zootaxa 208, pp. 1-12 : 6-7

Leptestheria cristata new species ( Fig. 2)

Material Examined.— Holotype.— MBUCV XI­ 4885, 1 male; Venezuela, Lara State, road from Barquisimeto to Carora (10°9’N, 69°35’), collected by G. Pereira, 11 Oct 1980. Paratypes.— MBUCV XI­ 3744, 12 males, 18 females; Venezuela, Lara State, road from Barquisimeto to Carora (10°9’N, 69°35’), collected by G. Pereira, 11 Oct 1980. MBUCV XI­ 3740, 47 males, 65 females; Venezuela, Guárico State, road from Calabozo to Paso Caballo (8°35’N, 67°10’W), collected by G. Pereira, 1 Jun 1981. MBUCV XI­ 3745, 4 males, 1 female; Venezuela, Lara State, road from Barquisimeto to Carora (10°9’N, 69°35’), collected by G. Pereira, 11 Oct 1980. MBUCV XI­ 3748, 8 males, 13 females; Venezuela, Guárico State, Calabozo town (9°5’N, 67°3’W), collected by G. Pereira, 5 May 1992. MBUCV XI­ 3750, 4 males; Venezuela, Apure State, Mantecal town (7°35’N, 69°48’W), collected by G. Pereira, 26 May 1980.

Measurements.— Holotype male 4.88 mm length, 2.80 mm height. Paratype males 3.84­6.80 mm length, 2.24­4.64 mm height (n=70). Paratype females 3.28­6.00 mm length, 2.08­3.88 mm height (n=70).

Description.—Carapace with umbo on anterior margin, more rectangular in males than in females, bearing shallow ridges between each growth line in the entire length of carapace, more conspicuous on dorsal margin ( Fig. 2 A,B). Female carapace with dorsal margin slightly arched behind umbo ( Fig. 2 B). Males and females similar in size. Area between growth lines ridges granulated, growth lines with a row of delicate short setae. Head with well developed occipital spine, ventrally arched in males ( Fig. 2 C), but more straight in females ( Fig. 2 D). Anterior margin of head with pronounced concavity above the eye in males, shallow concavity in females. Ocellus at rostral base, variable in shape. Male rostrum roundly spatuliform in lateral view ( Fig. 2 C). Female rostrum angularly shaped, less broad than in males. In both sexes, wide fornices meet at rostral apex, where a sharp spine is located ( Fig. 2 D). First antenna indistinctly segmented with 10­13 lobes bearing sensory setae in males and 8­11 lobes in females ( Fig. 2 E, F). Male second antenna with peduncle indistinctly segmented, with 11 segments in both flagella, each segment with 2­7 dorsal spines and ventral long setae ( Fig. 2 E). Female second antenna similar to male ( Fig. 2 F). Male first thoracopod stout, with indentation at base of immovable finger ( Fig. 2 G). Movable finger stout, strongly curved, with a truncated apex. Distal end with shallow blunt spines on ventral margin. Immovable finger stout, with stout thick acute spines on clasping border. Endite 4 stout, with simple terminal setae. Endite 5 (palp) stout, with two segments bearing setae only on distal segment. Total length of palp subequal to movable finger. Endite 1 strongly curved, with acute tip bearing two serrate terminal spines. Endite 2 and 3 lobe shaped, with pedunculate setae. Female first thoracopod with setose lobe on anterior side ( Fig. 2 H). Female fifth, tenth and eleventh throracopod with epipods swollen and cylindrical in shape (female egg mass supporting appendages) ( Fig. 2 I,J.K), less developed in fifth thoracopod ( Fig. 2 I). Male telson with two rows of 19­ 23 sharp spines, some of which are small sized, with some bigger ones intercalated ( Fig. 2 L). Telsonal filaments delicate, plumose on distal half, arising at the level of the second telsonal spine. Female telson similar to male in shape and spination ( Fig. 2 M).

Type Locality.—Road from Barquisimeto city to Carora town, Lara State, Venezuela.

Etymology.—The name is derived from the Latin word “ crista ” (crest), to indicate that this species has a series of small protuberances resembling a crest on the upper margin of the carapace ( Fig. 2 A, B).

Remarks.—This species is easily distinguished from other South American Leptestheria by the presence of a series of protuberances on the dorsal margin of the carapace and by the characteristic shape of the female egg­supporting appendages. The spination pattern of the telson in this species is similar to that in L. tucumanensis and L. titicacae , species in which the armature is irregular because of the presence of large, strong teeth intercalated between the smaller ones, a pattern frequently observed in family Cyzicidae , but not common in species of Leptestheriidae ( Harding, 1940) . L. cristata was found in small shallow pools with scarce vegetation, cohabiting with the fairy shrimp D. geayi ( Anostraca : Thamnocephalidae ).