Acanthocyclops agamus Kiefer, 1938

Dole-Olivier, Marie-José, Galassi, Diana M. P., Fiers, Frank, Malard, Florian, Martin, Patrick, Martin, Dominique & Marmonier, Pierre, 2015, Biodiversity in mountain groundwater: the Mercantour National Park (France) as a European hotspot, Zoosystema 37 (4), pp. 529-550 : 538

Acanthocyclops agamus Kiefer, 1938

Acanthocyclops agamus Kiefer, 1938: 4 .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Site 3: 8 specimens; site 7: 2 specimens. Material deposited at IRScNB, I.G. 31589.

REMARKS

Acanthocyclops agamus was originally described by Kiefer (1938) from a single male specimen from Castelcivita Cave. The original description raised doubts about the generic assignment of the species ( Kiefer 1938; Dussart 1969; Dussart & Defaye 1985; Einsle 1996). Subsequently, Galassi & De Laurentiis (2004a) redescribed the species from topotypic males and females, confirming the validity of the species. At present, this stygobiotic species is known from the type locality in southern Italy, from the Mazzoccolo karstic spring (Latium, central Italy) and from the Gizio karstic spring (Abruzzi Region, central Italy) ( Galassi & De Laurentiis 2004a). The species shows unique features in the reduced segmental pattern of the swimming legs as result of heterochrony. The female shows an earlier arrested development than the male and consequently shows a more drastic and stable reduction in segmentation. This species is here recorded for the first time from areas outside the central-southern Apennines ( Italy), significantly expanding the distributional range of the species. At present, the species should be considered rare in both terms of abundance and patchiness in its geographic distribution, and for this reason it can be considered critically endangered according to the criteria of the IUCN (2001).