Gallocaris, Sket & Zakšek, 2009

Sket, Boris & Zakšek, Valerija, 2009, European cave shrimp species (Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae), redefined after a phylogenetic study; redefinition of some taxa, a new genus and four new Troglocaris species, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 155 (4), pp. 786-818 : 793-794

GENUS GALLOCARIS GEN. NOV.

Synonymy: Troglocaris Fage, 1937 p.p.

Diagnosis: A paratyine genus with supra- and suborbital spines on the carapace, but with pterygostomian border rounded; maxilliped I exopodital lobe gradually narrowed distally, flagellum short (shorter than width of lobe); pereopods I–III or more with exopodites; pereopod-V dactylus not comb-like; male pleopods as in Dugastella (but probably with AM shorter than AI). Known species: eyeless, and with very short rostrum lacking teeth.

Type (and the only known) species: Troglocaris schmidti inermis Fage, 1937 .

Remarks: The previous molecular analysis ( Zakšek et al., 2007) shows the closest, but still comparatively loose relation of Gallocaris with Dugastella valentina from Valencian surface waters.

The American genus Palaemonias is similar to Gallocaris in the shape of the male pleopods I and II, and even in the comparatively small maxilliped I exopodite; but Palaemonias has a particularly long rostrum, a developed pterygostomian spine (at least in its type species Palaemonias ganteri Hay, 1901 ), and a normally comb-like pereopod dactylus V.

GALLOCARIS INERMIS ( FAGE, 1937)

( FIGS 2 Gi, 4Gi, 5Gi)

Synonymy: Troglocaris schmidti inermis Fage, 1937 ; Troglocaris inermis Holthuis, 1956 .

Type locality: France, dep. Gard , Saint-Hippolyte-du- Fort, Grotte de Cambous cave .

Material examined: France, dep. Gard, Sauve, tunnel at the resurgence, leg. C. Bou, C. Juberthie & B. Sket: sequenced and dissected, ‘V48 = Sauve_53’ and V49 = Sauve_54. France, dep. Herault, Causse-della-Selle, Cent Fonts, leg. C. Bou: sequenced ‘V47 = Cent-f_50’.

Diagnosis: Characters of the genus.

Remarks: A topotype sample from the cave of Cambous was not available for molecular analysis. But the locality of the sequenced specimen (Sauve) is just 5 km ESE of the type locality, and is molecularly very close to the specimen from Cent Fons, which is approximately 35 km south-west of the type locality. We may suppose that both are largely identical to the type population.

All male specimens described previously ( Fage, 1937) or examined have the AM shorter than AI in pleopod II, and pereopods III and IV are not differentiated. Given the small size difference between males and the ovigerous females (males are smaller than females in these shrimps), these might represent the final stage of morphological maturation. This species is very exceptional for its non-comb-like dactyli of pereopods V; it is questionable if this is an apomorphy.

Distribution: The species, and therefore the genus, has a small distribution area in the cave waters of southern France, in departments Gard and Hérault.

Figures

Figure 2. Endopodites of male pleopods I: Dv, Dugastella valentina from Mijares River; Gi, three aspects of Gallocaris inermis from Grotte de Cambous; Th, Troglocaris (Troglocaridella) hercegovinensis from Vjetrenica; Sp, Troglocaris (Spelaeocaris) pretneri from Dejanova pećina;?Sp, T. (S.) cf. pretneri from Ljelješnica. Scale bars: see Fig. 4; sE for Sp, Th, iTh; sG for Dv, Gi.