Paracaridina zijinica Liang, 2002

Klotz, Werner & Rintelen, Thomas Von, 2014, To “ bee ” or not to be — on some ornamental shrimp from Guangdong Province, Southern China and Hong Kong SAR, with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 3889 (2), pp. 151-184 : 180-181

Paracaridina zijinica Liang, 2002

(Colour plate 2C)

Paracaridina zijinica Liang, 2002 [type locality: Zijin, Guangdong, southern China] Caridina meridionalis Wang, Liang & Li, 2008 [type locality: Heyuan County, Guangdong Province] Paracaridina meridionalis .— Karge & Klotz, 2013

Material examined. 5 ♂ cl 4.0–6.0 mm, 4 ♀ cl 3.2–5.0 mm ( OUMNH.ZC 2013-07-038), 5 ♂ cl 3.6–5.0 mm, 4 ♀ cl 3.5–4.7 mm ( RMNH. CRUS.D.56066), 2 ♂ cl 4.7 and 4.8 mm (collWK 18-09), China, Guangdong Prov., mountain stream near the Xinfeng Jiang Reservoir, 23.936111°N 114.637778°E, coll. W. + M. Klotz 03.04.2009; 3 ♂ cl 3.0– 4.2 mm, 2 ♀ cl 3.4–4.9 mm ( OUMNH.ZC 2013-07-039), 2 ♂ cl 3.8 and 4.1 mm (collWK 19-09), China, Guangdong Prov., small forest stream near the Xinfeng Jiang Reservoir, 23.923361°N 114.599139°E, coll. W. + M. Klotz 0 3.04.2009.

In 2009 several specimens of bee shrimp could be collected from two hill streams near the Xingfengjiang Reservoir, Heyuan County, Guangdong Province. According to a local fisherman collecting shrimp for the aquarium trade in this area, the same species can be found in about 20 streams near the Xingfengjiang Reservoir. Specimens from both streams sampled agree well with the original description in both morphology and life coloration of Caridina meridionalis Wang, Liang & Li, 2008 (see colour plate 2C for comparison with fig. 8, page 58 in Wang et al. 2008). Wang et al. (2008) did not mention the branchial formula of their specimens. In the specimens examined the first pereiopods are lacking an arthropod and this species should thus be assigned to Paracaridina . Amongst the known members of Paracaridina , C. meridionalis (based on the bee shrimp herein examined) is very similar to P. z i j i n i c a Liang, 2002, also described from Heyuan County, differing only in the length of the stylocerite, which reaches almost to the end of the first antennular peduncle in P. meridionalis vs. reaching to the end or slightly overreaching this segment in P. zijinica ). As this difference is considered to be intraspecific variation, C. meridionalis Wang et al. 2008 is here considered to be a junior synonym of P. z i j i n i c a.