A checklist of names in Alona Baird 1843 (Crustacea: Cladocera: Chydoridae) and their current status: an analysis of the taxonomy of a lump genus

Abstract

We discuss current progress with the revision of Alona Baird, 1843 (Crustacea: Cladocera: Chydoridae), the largest cladoceran lump genus. We present the first inventory of these Aloninae since the 1970’s and include an updated checklist of names, with comments on the current status and position of each taxon. We discuss validity, affinities and synonymy of ca. 240 names, including subspecies and varieties. Recent taxonomic shifts have lead to a better delineation of natural groups in the Aloninae but the Alona puzzle remains incomplete. The majority of taxa are grouped into species-complexes or separate genera. We count 14 Aloninae genera, now considered valid, that were split from Alona. The status of a significant portion remains unclear, due to poor original descriptions and/or loss of type material. Even with detailed morphological descriptions, the phylogenetic position of many Aloninae remains unsettled. Analysis of Alona taxonomy based on the checklist shows historical trends and long periods of instability in the systematics of these micro-crustaceans.

Spatio‐temporal distribution of sedimentary Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in relation to climate

“…Cladoceran taxonomy has undergone intense changes during the last decade, and continues to do so, with a significant number of morphological and molecular revisions appearing (Forró et al ., ). Although cladoceran fossils can usually be identified to the level of species or species complexes, the identification is still relatively coarse in the abundant and species‐rich genera Daphnia (Daphniidae) and Alona (Chydoridae) (Petrusek et al ., ; Van Damme et al ., ). However, the taxonomic resolution of fossil remains has improved for the Holarctic (Szeroczyńska & Sarmaja‐Korjonen, ; Korosi & Smol, ,b; Nevalainen et al ., ), and therefore the palaeoecological approach, together with taxonomical efforts, is likely to enhance knowledge of biogeographical phenomena such as distribution, dispersal, evolution and diversity among the Cladocera (Dodson & Frey, ).…”

Findings of Phreatalona protzi (Hartwig, 1900) (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Chydoridae) in Russia

“…Both last references do not provide an exact position of the sampling sites where P. protzi was found. Flössner (1972) defines the distribution of P. protzi as Palaearctic, Dumont and Negrea (1996) as West Palearctic, and according to Van Damme et al (2009Damme et al ( , 2010 it is restricted to "Danubian Europe". According to Sinev (2017) P. protzi is an endemic of the Western Palearctic, not widespread in the Mediterranean region.…”

Cladoceran (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) biodiversity of protected areas in a Brazilian hotspot

“…Different kinds of water bodies (wetlands, streams, rivers, and ponds), habitats (plankton, bottom sediment, aquatic macrophytes, leaves, and litter from riparian zone) located in different altitudes were sampled ( Table 1). The samples were screened under a stereomicroscope, and all the cladoceran individuals were identified based on a specialized literature (e.g., Smirnov, 1992Smirnov, , 1996Elmoor-Loureiro, 1997;Kotov et al, 2004;Kotov, Stifter, 2006;Sinev, Elmoor-Loureiro, 2010;Van Damme et al, 2010. Jaccard similarity index and cluster analysis were used to evaluate species composition among protected areas.…”