Bennelongia kimberleyensis Martens, Halse & Schön, 2012

Deckker, Patrick De & Martens, Koen, 2013, Extraordinary morphological changes in valve morphology during the ontogeny of several species of the Australian ostracod genus Bennelongia (Crustacea, Ostracoda), European Journal of Taxonomy 36, pp. 1-37 : 8

Bennelongia kimberleyensis Martens, Halse & Schön, 2012

Figs 13-15

The characteristic ‘pinged’ depression in the anterior region when seen dorsally is a feature of the ‘ Bennelongia pinpi’ - lineage to which this species belongs (see discussion in Martens et al. 2012). The adult valves are smooth overall, and the A-4 and A-3 instars display a broad reticulation (best seen in A-4; see Figs 13 bottom right, 14 bottom and 15) with some simple pores, that are best described as pseudo-pores in A-2 and A-1 instars.

A few cones with outer lips and setae are common in A-4 and decrease in number and size during the ontogenic progress (see Figs 13-15 ), but are absent in adults. The 2 sets of domes are obvious in A-4 and less so in A-3, but are absent in older instars and in the adults. When present, the domes are reticulated and are adorned with a seta.

Figures

Fig. 13. Bennelongia kimberleyensis Martens et al., 2012 from Taylor’s Lagoon. Dorsal views of carapaces of different moult stages going from adult to A-4. Note the highly ornamented A-4 carapace with at least 2 sets of domes (and prominent cones) that are still visible in A-3, and not visible in the other stages. Only a few cones are seen in the A-1 specimen, and no ornamentation is visible in the adult specimen.

Fig. 14. Bennelongia kimberleyensis Martens et al., 2012 from Taylor’s Lagoon. Lateral views of carapaces of different moult stages going from adult to A-3 specimens, plus a lateral view of a single LV of an A-4 specimen (bottom image) that is partly broken along its anterior margin. Top left image represents an adult showing the asymmetric valves, with the antero-ventral beak-like expansion of the LV that is the characteristic of most Bennelongia species in the adult stage. Right lateral views are in the left column, left lateral views are in right column. Note that the pseudo-punctation is more pronounced in the youngest stages compared to the almost smooth nature of the adult valve.

Fig. 15. Detailed views of the domes and cones of A-3 and A-4 specimens of Bennelongia kimberleyensis Martens et al., 2012 from Taylor’s Lagoon. Note the micro-reticulated nature of the domes seen in the top left image in comparison with the rest of the valve the domes are enlarged in the top and bottom images on the right. The bottom left image and middle image on the right clearly show the cones with a lip near the apex and the protruding seta adorning each cone.