Winter-Spring fauna of Cladocera of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

Water bodies studied include Lake Erhai, second largest lake in Yunnan, several large lakes and reservoirs, and numerous smaller water bodies, located at 1800-2000 m above sea level. The winter-spring fauna of the area included 34 species, most of them Palearctic or widely distributed species, with plus five predominantly Paleotropical taxa. Thirty-one species occurred in Lake Erhai, while species richness in other water bodies not exceeded 14 species. Only parthenogenetic females were found in the majority of species, suggesting that Dali area climate is mild enough to allow Palearctic species to overwinter as active populations. Ilyocryptus cuneatus Śtifter, 1988 is recorded for China for the first time; Alona kotovi Sinev, 2012, Camptocercus uncinatus Smirnov, 1971 and Disparalona ikarus Sinev & Kotov, 2011, are also first records for continental China.