Bennelongia tirigie, Martens, Halse & Schon, 2015

Martens, Koen, Halse, Stuart & Schön, Isa, 2015, On the Bennelongia nimala and B. triangulata lineages (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in Western Australia, with the description of six new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 111, pp. 1-36 : 13-16

Bennelongia tirigie sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7323D117-25B3-4059-B42C-079286494218

Figs 5 A–N, 6A–D

Abbreviated description

Valves in inner view ( Fig. 5A , C–D, F) relatively elongated, with rounded dorsal margin and greatest height situated well in front of the middle; ventral margin with pronounced mandibular curve anteriorly.

LV ( Fig. 5A, D ) with antero-distal il running only halfway along the anterior valve margin, anteroproximal il running almost all the way up along the valve margin; posterior il tuberculate and running halfway up the posterior margin. RV ( Fig. 5C, F ) with antero-ventral lapel relatively large, but bent closely to valve surface and therefore less conspicuous ( Fig. 5 K–N). Valves with heavy external ornamentation, mostly consisting of small tubercles ( Fig. 5B, E , G–J).

Cp ( Fig. 5B, E , G–J) with largest LV/RV overlap of all Bennelongia species known to date. CpD and CpV with greatest width situated slightly behind the middle in males ( Fig. 5 I–J), in the middle in females ( Fig. 5 G–H), anteriorly with strong and asymmetrical rostrum.

Soft parts as typical of the genus. Hemipenes ( Fig. 6 A–B) almost symmetrical, edge of lobe ms almost straight, lobe ls with extremity ventrally pointed. Lpp ( Fig. 6C ) with distal segment rather narrow. Rpp ( Fig. 6D ) with distal segment rather broad, elongated and distally rounded, sensory organ on first segment stout.

Etymology

The species is named after its type locality, Tirigie Claypan in Gascoyne, WA.

Type material

Holotype

♂ ( WAMC55595 ), with soft parts dissected in a sealed slide and valves stored dry in a micropalaeontological slide.

Allotype

♀ ( WAMC55596 ), with valves stored dry in a micropalaeontological slide and soft parts used for molecular screening.

Paratypes

Numerous females and males from the type locality, either dissected or stored as the holotype, as carapaces used for SEM or in alcohol. See Table 1 for listing of specimens ( WAMC 5597–55601).

Other material investigated

Crackers Swamp, Dandaragan, WA (sample SIEK 1). Approximate coordinates: 30°54’36” 115°35’30.2” E. All material collected by the authors on 5 Apr. 2006. Several females.

S,

Minilya Pool, Gascoyne , WA (sample SIKE 19). Approximate coordinates: 23°54’25” S, 114°01’47.3” E. All material collected by the authors on 7 Jul. 2011. K25 = 693 µS/cm, Temp = 17.3°C, pH = 7.3.

Unnamed crabhole swamp on Winning Station, Gascoyne, WA (sample ESKI 05). Approximate coordinates: 23°15’22” S, 114°44’57.8” E. All material collected by the authors on 6 Apr. 2013. Several females ( WAMC 55602–55604).

Dam on Winning Station, Gascoyne, WA (sample ESKI 06). Approximate coordinates: 22°14’16.0” S, 114°42’34.0” E. All material collected by the authors on 6 Apr. 2013. Several males and females ( WAMC 556055–55609).

Unnamed large claypan on Winning Station, Gascoyne, WA (sample ESKI 08). Approximate coordinates: 23°07’39.6” S, 114°34’41.3” E. All material collected by the authors on 6 Apr. 2013. Several males and females ( WAMC 55610, OC3374–3375).

Type locality

AUSTRALIA: Tirigie Claypan, Gascoyne, WA (sample SIEK4), approximate coordinates: 24°38’29” S, 113°59’44” E. All material collected by the authors on 7 Apr. 2006.

European Journal of Taxonomy 111: 1–36 (2015)

Differential diagnosis

The large frontal LV/RV overlap and the shape of the lapel on the RV distinguish this species from all others in the B. nimala lineage. The shape of the ls on the hemipenes and of the distal segment of the Rpp enables this species to be distinguished from others of the B. nimala lineage for which males are known: B. nimala has a broader ls and an even narrower distal segment on the Rpp; B. koendersae sp. nov. has an ls that is longer, more robust and not so pointed, while the distal segment of its Rpp is broadly triangular, with almost straight margins; in B. regina Shearn et al., 2012 the distal segment of the Rpp is evenly rounded while the ls of the hemipenes end in small, birdhead-like lobes.

Measurements (all measurements in µm – see Table 1 for measurements of all specimens illustrated with SEM)

Holotype ♂ ( WAMC55595 ): RV: L = 1080, H = 603; LV: L = 1190, H = 650.

Allotype ♀ ( WAMC55596 ): RV: L = 1180, H = 692; LV: L = 1300, H = 737.

Ecology and distribution

Bennelongia tirigie sp. nov. is a common species in turbid seasonal water bodies of the Gascoyne region of WA. Its range extends south to the northern Swan Coastal Plain, where it has been collected from a seasonal freshwater swamp of low turbidity.

Figures

Fig. 5. Bennelongia tirigie sp. nov. (all from type locality: Tirigie Claypan, Murchison/Gascoyne, WA). A. LVi (allotype ♀, WAMC55596). B. CpRL (♀, WAMC 55600). C. RVi (♀, WAMC55596). D. LVi (holotype ♂, WAMC55595). E. CpRL (♂, WAMC55597). F. RVi (♂, WAMC55595). G. CpD (♀, WAMC55599). H. CpV (♀, WAMC55598). I. CpD (♂, WAMC55597). J. CpV (♂, WAMC55597). K. RVi, detail anterior margin (♀, WAMC55596). L. RVi, tilted, detail anterior margin (♀, WAMC55596). M. RVi, detail anterior margin (♂, WAMC55595). N. RVi, tilted, detail anterior margin (♂, WAMC55595). Scale = 1 mm for A–J; 200 µm for K–N.

Fig. 6. Bennelongia tirigie sp. nov. (A–D, WAMC55595, holotype) and B. koendersae sp. nov. (E– H, WAMC55615, paratype), all ♂. A–B. Outlines of hemipenes. C. Lpp. D. Rpp. E–F. Outlines of hemipenes. G. Lpp. H. Rpp. Scale = 73 µm for A, D–E; 31 µm for B–C, F–H