A new amphipod from the depths of the Morca Sinkhole (Anamur, Türkiye): Gammarus morcae n. sp. (Amphipoda: Gammaridae), with notes on cavernicolous amphipods of Türkiye

Authors

MURAT ÖZBEK
GÖKHAN AYDIN

DOI

10.55730/1300-0179.3118

Abstract

A new Gammarus species is identified based on the specimens collected from the Morca Sinkhole, which was discovered in 2019 in Anamur District, South of Türkiye. Eleven individuals belonging to the newly identified species were collected from the siphon located at the end of the sinkhole (-1260 m). The newly identified species can be distinguished by the following character combinations and morphological features: blind, colorless (unpigmented) and completely setae-covered body. Setae are not only on the surfaces of the meta- and mesosome segments, they are also present on the head, coxal + epimeral plates, and basal segments of the pereopods V to VII. Some tiny formations (aesthetascs?) on the flagellar segments of antenna I were also noted. The mouthparts of the holotype male were photographed, and the remaining extremities were drawn in detail. The morphology of the new species is compared with its relatives and a list of the covernicolous amphipod species of Türkiye was also presented.

Keywords

Invertebrate, benthos, cave, freshwater, troglobiont

First Page

81

Last Page

93

Recommended Citation

ÖZBEK, MURAT and AYDIN, GÖKHAN (2023) "A new amphipod from the depths of the Morca Sinkhole (Anamur, Türkiye): Gammarus morcae n. sp. (Amphipoda: Gammaridae), with notes on cavernicolous amphipods of Türkiye," Turkish Journal of Zoology: Vol. 47: No. 2, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0179.3118
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/vol47/iss2/4