Redescription of the endemic Australian cladoceran Alona willisi (Smirnov, 1989) and its assignment to Acanthalona gen. nov (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Chydoridae)

Artem Y. Sinev*, Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Alona willisi (Smirnov, 1989) (Anomopoda: Chydoridae) is a poorly known cladoceran endemic to Australia. The present morphological study revealed numerous unique and rare features of the species and justifies its assignment to Acanthalona gen. nov. The new genus differs by its postabdomen armed with very long, thick marginal denticles and by exopodite of limb V with only three setae. It also differs from most Aloninae by antennal formula (setae 0-0-3/0-1-2, spines 1-0-1/0-0-1), shared only with Bryospilus Frey, 1980. In our opinion, Acanthalona gen. nov. is related to Armatalona Sinev, 2004 and Matralona Van Damme &Dumont, 2009. These three genera form a clade, basal for the subfamily, and not directly related to the majority of Aloninae. The records of A. willisi show that the species inhabits both acidic and alkaline freshwaters and seems to be algivorous as well as detritivorous.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)43-55
Number of pages13
JournalZootaxa
Issue number3390
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jul 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Acanthalona gen. nov.
  • Apomorphies
  • Armatalona
  • Australian endemism
  • Cladocera
  • Matralona
  • Royal National Park
  • Sister groups
  • Synapomorphies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Redescription of the endemic Australian cladoceran Alona willisi (Smirnov, 1989) and its assignment to Acanthalona gen. nov (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Chydoridae)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this