Four new Gammarus species from Tibetan Plateau with a key to Tibetan freshwater gammarids (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Gammaridae).

Zhonge Hou,Shuqiang Li

doi:10.3897/zookeys.747.21999

Abstract

Four new species of the genus Gammarus are described and illustrated from Tibetan Plateau. Gammarus altus sp. n. and G. limosus sp. n. are characterized by pereopods III–IV with a few short setae and uropod III with marginal spines accompanied by short setae. Gammarus kangdingensis sp. n. and G. gonggaensis sp. n. are characterized by pereopods III–IV with long straight setae on posterior margins and inner ramus of uropod III 0.4 times as long as outer ramus. Detailed morphological comparisons with related species are discussed. A key to 15 Gammarus species from the Tibetan Plateau and a map of their distributions are provided.

Highlights

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau in the world, and arguably the most prominent topological feature on Earth (Royden et al 2008, Favre et al 2015)
The Tibetan Plateau is typically inhabited by highly specialized biota, which is adapted to the extreme environmental conditions, such as wild yaks and Tibetan gazelles (Hou and Li 2004)
In order to better understand the biodiversity of the Tibetan Plateau, six expeditions were organized by the authors from 2001 to 2017

Summary

Introduction

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau in the world, and arguably the most prominent topological feature on Earth (Royden et al 2008, Favre et al 2015).

Results

Conclusion