Bennelongia muggon, Martens, Halse & Schon, 2015

Martens, Koen, Halse, Stuart & Schön, Isa, 2015, On the Bennelongia nimala and B. triangulata lineages (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in Western Australia, with the description of six new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 111, pp. 1-36 : 21-23

Bennelongia muggon sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:38D3B6B7-30B5-4F70-AE39-A46A3213719C

Fig. 9 A–N

Bennelongia cf. nimala nov. sp. – De Deckker & Martens 2013: 6–7 , figs 2–10.

Abbreviated description

Valves in inner view ( Fig. 9A,C ) relatively high, with rounded dorsal margin and greatest height situated well in front of the middle; ventral margin anteriorly with slight mandibular curve. LV ( Fig. 9A ) with antero-distal il running over halfway along the anterior valve margin, antero-proximal il running less than halfway up along the anterior valve margin; posterior il running more than halfway up the posterior margin, but mostly smooth, not tuberculate. RV ( Fig. 9C ) with antero-ventral lapel pronounced and droplet-shaped, with delicately serrated edge ( Fig. 9C , H–I, K–N). Valves with external ornamentation mostly consisting of small tubercles ( Fig. 9B , D–H).

Cp ( Fig. 9 C–G) with strong LV/RV overlap, almost as large as in B. tirigie sp. nov. CpD and CpVwith greatest width situated in the middle in females, anteriorly with less pronounced, asymmetrical rostrum.

Soft parts as typical of the genus.

Male unknown.

Etymology

The species is named after its type locality, a large lake on Muggon Station, Murchison, WA. Type material

Holotype

♀ ( WAMC55632 ), valves stored dry in a micropalaeontological slide, with soft parts used for molecular screening.

Paratypes

Numerous females from the type locality, either stored as the holotype, as carapaces used for SEM or in alcohol ( WAMC 55633–55645, OC3381–3383). See Table 1 for listing of specimens.

Other material investigated

Unnamed canegrass pan on Boolathana Station, Gascoyne, WA (sample SIKE 12). Approximate coordinates: 24°44’41” S, 113°43’22” E. All material collected by the authors on 6 Jul. 2011. K25 = 1020 µS/cm, pH = 8.7, Temp = 16.9°C.

Dam at Solomon’s Well, Victoria Plains, WA (sample DJC /04). Approximate coordinates: 31°11’59” S, 116°21’47.7” E. All material collected by David J. Cale (DPaW, Kensington) on 9 Sep. 2011. K25 = 120 µS/cm, pH = 6.8, Temp = 14.4°C.

Petrudor Dam, Wheatbelt, WA (sample DJC /15). Approximate coordinates: 30°25’19” S, 116°57’40” E. All material collected by David J. Cale (DPaW, Kensington) on 11 Sep. 2011. K25 = 162 µS/cm, pH = 7.85, Temp = 22.0°c.

Type locality

AUSTRALIA: Unnamed large lake at Muggon Station, Murchison, WA (sample SIKE 20). Approximate coordinates: 26°44’15” S, 115°29’59” E. All material collected by the authors on 8 Jul. 2011. K25 = 475 µS/cm, pH = 8.9, Temp = 13.4°C.

Measurements (all measurements in µm – see Table 1 for measurements of all specimens illustrated with SEM)

Holotype ♀ ( WAMC55632 ): RV: L = 1015, H = 603; LV: L = 1078, H = 638.

Differential diagnosis

This is the smallest of all species described in the present paper. Bennelongia muggon sp. nov. can further be distinguished from other members of the B. nimala lineage by the size and shape of the anteroventral lapel on the RV, the smooth posterior il and the short anterior inner il in the LV.

Ecology and distribution

This is one of the more common species in this lineage, as it has been found in several freshwater dams and pans from the Gascoyne region south to the Wheatbelt, WA. It occurs in fresh turbid water.

Figures

Fig. 9. Bennelongia muggon sp. nov. (all ♀, from type locality: Lake Muggon, Murchison/Gascoyne, WA). A. LVi (holotype, WAMC55632). B. CpRL (WAMC55635). C. RVi (WAMC55632). D. CpD, detail anterior margin (WAMC55634). E. CpD (WAMC55634). F. CpV (WAMC55636). G. CpV, detail anterior margin (WAMC55636). H. CpRL, detail anterior margin (WAMC55635). I. RVi (WAMC55633). J. RVi, detail posterior margin (WAMC55633). K. RVi, detail anterior margin (WAMC55632). L. RVi, tilted, detail anterior margin (WAMC55632). M. RVi, detail anterior margin (WAMC55633). N. RVi, tilted, detail anterior margin (WAMC55633). Scales = 1 mm for A–C, E–F, I; 200 µm for D, G–H, J–N.