Chirocephalus sanhadjaensis sp. nov., a new chirocephalid species (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) from Numidia (Algeria)

Abstract

A new species of Chirocephalus collected in temporary freshwater ponds in Northeastern Algeria is described. Chirocephalus sanhadjaensis sp. nov. seems to be restricted to Ain-Magroun and Belkroun pools (Skikda Province). The most similar species is C. marchesonii Ruffo & Vesentini, 1957, which is endemic to Italy. The new taxon, belonging to the “diaphanus” species group of the genus Chirocephalus, is identifiable from all congeners primarily by the shape of the antennal appendages and that of the apex of the distal antennomere of the antennae. The resting eggs of C. sanhadjaensis sp. nov. are similar to those of C. diaphanus or C. salinus but are larger (448.24 ± 30.93 µm). The restricted distribution of this species confirms the high biological diversity of the area of the Guerbes-Sanhadja eco-complex.

Phylogenetic status of Tanymastix stagnalis (Linnaeus 1758) (Crustacea Branchiopoda) from Algeria, with some ecological notes

“…In the genus Branchipus, cryptic species are also distributed on both continents and some of them have a wide, interrupted distribution in Algeria and France or Italy, which is somewhat similar to the situation of T. stagnalis (Lukić et al 2019). On the other hand, if we compare Tanymastix with Chirocephalus of diaphanus group we observe: that the distribution of the genus Chirocephalus is more continuous, that there are many clades and that there is no clade/species in common between continental Europe (France/Spain/Italy) and Algeria (Renier et al 2013;Boumendjel et al 2018Boumendjel et al , 2023. The phylogeographic model of Rogers (2015) would also explain this different distribution between Chirocephalus spp.…”

“…Thus, the "Monopolization Hypothesis" would explain the strong priority effects of the founding population, which, after installation, would hinder the gene ow of newcomers occupying the same niche (Meester et al 2002). In this case, the success of the European Tanymastix would be linked to the absence of indigenous Tanymatix species in the north of Algeria, and therefore, without local competition, they could easily establish themselves, while, in the case of Chirocephalus, the European populations/species are faced with very strong local competition and do not take root (Boumendjel et al 2018(Boumendjel et al , 2023. Furthermore, the presence of a consistent cystbank of the resident species, which are adapted to local conditions, limits the establishment of the immigrant species (Rogers et al 2015).…”

“…T. stagnalis has been reported to live in temporary pools on sandy soil (Brtek and Thiéry 1995;Zarattini et al 2017), karst systems (Mura and Zarattini 2000), rock pools (Rabet 1994;2001), pools in forests (Gauthier 1928;Rabet 2001) and also in tree holes (Jocque et al 2013). Ponds similar to those of El-Frine are numerous in the humid and sub-humid regions of the country but they harbour Chirocephalus salinus or C. sanhadjaensis (Samraoui and Dumont 2002;Boumendjel et al 2018) rather than T. stagnalis.…”

“…A fragment of the mtDNA gene encoding cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtDNA COI) was ampli ed using the universal primers LCO1490 and HCO2198 described by Folmer (Folmer et al 1994). The PCR reaction was carried out on a Bio-Rad C1000 Touch thermal cycler for a total volume of 20 µl (see Boumendjel et al 2023). Each reaction contained the following composition: 12.44 µl (H 2 O), 2 µl (Taq10x coralLoad buffer), 1 µl DMSO (DiMethyl Sulfoxide), 1 µl BSA (Bovine Albumin Serum), 0.8 µl dNTP (DeoxyNucleotide TriPhosphate), 0.32 µl (HCO2198), 0.32 µl (LCO1490), 0.12 µl of Taq (recombinant DNA polymerase, Quiagen) and 2 µl of DNA.…”

Phylogenetic analysis of Chirocephalus (Branchiopoda: Anostraca), with the description of a new species from Algeria

“…This genus is distributed throughout the Palearctic under several types of climates (Rogers 2013). New species of Chirocephalus are still discovered so far (Rogers and Sou 2013;Cottarelli et al 2017;Boumendjel et al 2018) and work on molecular phylogeny gradually begins to shed light on the evolution of this genus (Reniers et al 2013).…”