Cuyojanira sp.

Alejandra, Marcela, Verónica, Águeda & Miranda, Isa, 2023, South America stygobiont crustaceans: a new species of Hyalellidae (Amphipoda) and new reports of Stygocarididae (Anaspidacea) and Protojaniridae (Isopoda) from Calingasta Valley, Pre-Andean region, San Juan, Argentina, Zootaxa 5264 (1), pp. 1-26 : 19

Cuyojanira sp.

( Fig. 10 )

Material examined. 1 male (incomplete) and 8 females (without antennae), FML-CRUST 01290, Calingasta River, San Juan Province, Calingasta Department, Calingasta River (hyporheic): Well 1: 31°20′ 30.7′′S, 69° 25′ 38.1′′ W, 1373 m a.s.l. 6 Nov 2014. M. Peralta & A. Franck Colombres cols .

Comments. The family Protojaniridae Fresi, Idato & Scipione, 1980 ( Asellota , Gnathostenetroidoidea ) comprises 14 species and two subspecies ( Pérez-Schultheiss & Wilson 2021) of tiny stygobiont isopods. It is a Gondwanan and primarily freshwater group. Its species are known from Chile, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Namibia, and South Africa. Its relict nature and ancient origin mean that every finding is a valuable element for phylogenetic and paleobiogeographic reconstruction. The discovery of the first Chilean Protojaniridae species in springs associated with riverine groundwater, Wiyufiloides osornoensis, Perez-Schulteiss & Wilson (2021) , is recent. These authors suggest the possibility that two or three different phylogenetic lines exist within the Protojaniridae , although knowledge of this group in South America is still incipient.

The two species of Cuyojanira described so far, C. riojana Grosso (1992) and C. ischichuca Grosso & Quiroga (2007) , inhabit intermittent streams in arid regions of western Argentina. The new report ( Fig. 10 ) comes from the hyporheic zone of the Calingasta River, a permanent watercourse. The characters of these specimens agree with the diagnosis of Cuyojanira ( Grosso 1992) but more studies are needed to determine whether it is a new species.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Habitus (photograph) of Cuyojanira sp. (FML-CRUST 01290) (Isopoda, Protojaniridae).