ABSTRACT
New records of 14 stygobiont crustacean species pertaining to six Malacostraca orders from 32 cenotes are presented, with their associated caves of the state of Yucatan, Mexico, together with an individual account for each species. Species composition of most of the investigated cenotes is examined for the first time. A thermosbaenacean and two amphipod species were not formally recorded to the cenote ecosystems of the state of Yucatan prior to our research. Distribution data of a cirolanid isopod previously known only from its type locality is also provided. Barcodes of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I for the reported peracarid species previously lacking this information have been included in present study as tools for species identification and a baseline of further molecular genetic analyses.
ABSTRACT
A detailed description of a new stygobiont species of the amphipod family Hadziidae, Mayaweckelia troglomorpha Angyal, sp. n. is given, based on material collected in four cenotes of Yucatán federal state, México. Morphology was studied under light microscopy and with scanning electron microscopy. Morphological description is complemented with mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences as barcodes, with affinities to the related taxa and with notes on the species' ecology. Using COI Bayesian inference and genetic distance analyses, we show that the closest relative of the new species is M. cenoticola, forming a monophyletic group referring to the genus Mayaweckelia. Based on the available sequences, we also revealed that Mayaweckelia and Tuluweckelia are sister genera, standing close to the third Yucatán subterranean genus, Bahadzia. The data gathered on the habitat, distribution, abundance, and ecology will contribute to the conservation planning for M. troglomorpha Angyal, sp. n.