Phallocryptus spinosa Milne-Edwards 1840

Phallocryptus spinosa (Milne-Edwards, 1840)

(Fig. 1)

Material examined. Laguna de Gallocanta (Gallocanta, Zaragoza, Spain), 40°58’06”N, 1 ° 29’52”W, June, 2008, MA Collection; Laguna de Fuente de Piedra (Fuente de Piedra, Málaga, Spain), 37°06’34”N, 4°46’12”W, April, 2010, MA Collection; Adeh (Iran), 37°43’48.7”N, 45°14’54”E, May 2011, MA Collection; Khaselou (Iran), 37°49’32”N, 45°50’7.4”E, GM Collection; Palioura salt-marches (Thessaloniki, Greece), 40 ° 26’00”N, 22 ° 52’00”E, TA Collection. Abe Istada lake (Ghazni, Afghanistan), 32°28'60”N, 67°55'0”E, JB Collection.

Short description. The species has been fully described by Cottarelli & Mura (1983), Alonso (1996) and Rogers (2003), among others. Here we focus only on the characters to be used in the differential diagnosis of the new species P. t s ere n s o dn o m i.

Male. Second antenna capable of extending backwards reaching to fourth thoracopod. Distal antennamere 1.5 times as long as proximal counterpart, proximal half curved (Fig. 1 E). Frontal appendages smooth (Fig. 1 A, B). Labrum with elongate stout digitiform fleshy process curved forwards (“L” shaped) on tip (Fig. 1 C, D). Second genital segment, basal portion of gonopods and everted part of gonopods as figured (Fig.1 F–H). First four abdominal segments with distinctive midventral integumentary bulge on proximal margin (Alonso 1996: fig. 26I) covering set of subjacent small papillae. All abdominal segments with distal margin bearing medial pair of ventrally directed spine-like projections, those of first segment large, whereas those on other segments progressively smaller towards posterior (see Alonso 1996: fig. 26H); latter character subject to variability since Iranian and Greek populations, apart from that described by Rogers (2003), with midventral spine-like projections present only on first, second and sometimes third abdominal segments.

Female. Second antenna lamellar, four times longer than wide, counterparts fused medially at base and with sharp recurved apex.

Size. Medium-sized to large fairy shrimp. Total body length (including setae of cercopods) of larger specimens in Gallocanta Lake up to 40 mm.

Distribution and Ecology. Widespread in the dry areas of the Palearctic, such as the Circum-Mediterranean area, the eastern European steppes, the Middle East and some areas of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan to the east. It has been reported from Africa south to Botswana (several references in Belk & Brtek (1995), Rogers (2003)). It lives in temporary or permanent shallow lakes. Water quality ranges from mesosaline to hypersaline (according to Hammer 1986) and with variable turbidity (Alonso 1990). In Gallocanta and Fuente de Piedra lakes (Spain), it cooccurs with halophyle species such as the cladocerans Daphnia mediterranea Alonso, 1985, Moina salina Daday, 1888 and the copepods Arctodiaptomus (Rh.) salinus Daday, 1885 and Cletocamptus retrogressus Schmankevitch, 1875 (Alonso 1998). In Palioura salt-marches (Greece), it co-occurs with Artemia parthenogenetica Barigozzi, 1974 (Abatzopoulos, et al. 1999).