Branchinella raptor

Rogers, D. Christopher & Aguilar, Andres, 2020, Fig. 8 in Stiatoandricus nievesaldreyi Cuesta-Porta & Melika & Nicholls & Stone & Pujade-Villar 2022, Zoological Studies 59 (14), pp. 1-17 : 9-10

“ raptor ” species group

Diagnosis: Eyes reduced; male second antennae elongate, arcuate and subacute; female second antennae lacking a medial spine; body covered in sensory papillae; female thoracic segments lacking any dorsolateral projections; anterior most limbs longest; ovaries uniramal limited to the abdomen; brood pouch pyriform, extending to abdominal segment III; testes uniramal extending posteriorly from genital segments into abdominal segment VI; cercopods elongate, nearly as long as the abdomen, cylindrical, tapering, and glabrous. All other anostracans have the first and last limb pairs smaller than the middle pairs. This species is only known from habitats with a substrate salinity of 5 mS/cm and containing 25% calcium carbonate ( Rogers 2014a).

Comments: Branchinecta raptor shares several important character states with the ferox group (see comments under the ferox group below) and with Branchinecta gigas in the gigas group. Both B. raptor and B. gigas are specialized predators. Both species are super giants among anostracans (growing over 100 mm), have dramatically reduced eyes, bodies covered in sensory papillae that are used to detect movement in water by potential prey items, and elongated, whip like cercopods ( Rogers et al. 2006). The significance of these characters must needs be examined, especially as they do not appear in any other anostracan. These characters may suggest a stronger relationship than was elucidated by our genetic analyses.

Species attributed

Branchinecta raptor Rogers, Quinney, Weaver & Olesen, 2006

“Southern” species group

Diagnosis: (Limited) Eyes normal; male second antennae subcylindrical and highly variable; female second antennae lacking a medial spine; body lacking sensory papillae; female thoracic segments variously ornamented; first and last limb pairs shortest; ovaries biramal or uniramal; brood pouch variable; testes uniramal, limited to the abdomen; cercopods, fringed with setae, flattened and shorter than last two abdominal segments.

Comments: This group is not defined at this time, and is poorly resolved genetically and morphologically. Only two species from the southern hemisphere were available for molecular study and eleven were studied morphologically. The two species we analysed genetically grouped separately from the remaining members of the genus, regardless of their great morphological variety. While it is possible that all southern species belong to a single clade, we expect that once more taxa are available for study, other monophyletic groups will be revealed. The limited resolution we have now suggests that it is possible that the southern hemisphere species are the result of radical differentiation from a single, stochastic colonization event from North America. The species examined morphologically all share the basic form of the teste (uniramal, limited to the abdomen), and the cercopods. However, with as few taxa as we have for molecular analysis at this time, it is only considered a possibility.

Species attributed

Branchinecta achalensis César, 1985 (sensu Cohen, 1987)

= Branchinecta uruguayensis Rogers and Lorenz, 2015 Branchinecta brushi Hegna & Lazo-Wasem, 2010 Branchinecta ferrolimneta Rogers & Ferreira, 2007 Branchinecta fueguina Cohen, 2008 Branchinecta gaini Daday, 1910 Branchinecta granulosa Daday, 1902 (sensu Cohen, 1992, 1995)

= Branchinecta santacrucensis César, 1987a (fide Cohen, 1992) Branchinecta iheringi Lilljeborg, 1889 (sensu Cohen, 1993, 1995b) Branchinecta leonensis César, 1987b Branchinecta palustris Biraben, 1946 (sensu Cohen, 1981) Branchinecta papillata Rogers , de los Rios, & Zuniga, 2008 (sensu

Cohen, 2012) Branchinecta papillosa Biraben, 1946 Branchinecta prima Cohen, 1983

Branchinecta roacensis Cohen, 1982

Branchinecta somuncurensis Cohen, 1983

Branchinecta tarensis Birabén, 1946

Branchinecta tolli ( Sars, 1897) (sensu Vekhoff, 1989)

= Branchiopsyllus tolli Sars, 1897

= Artemiella skorikowi Daday, 1910

= Branchinecta skorikowi ( Daday, 1910)

Branchinecta valchetana Cohen, 1981

Branchinecta vuriloche Cohen, 1985