Niphargus tizianoi, Stoch & Knüsel & Zakšek & Alther & Salussolia & Altermatt & Fišer & Flot, 2024

Niphargus tizianoi View in CoL n. sp. Stoch, Knüsel & Flot

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs / 1B8A28B7-AE46-4C48-98C6-277D70 AD 4F1F

Type series. Böcc d’la Büsa Pitta, Italy (original label “Val Sabbiola, Varallo”), 02.05.1953 legit C. Moscardini; holotype male specimen (mounted by Karaman on slide n. 3592- 93) ; paratypes one female (mounted on slide 3594) and 8 specimens preserved in alcohol 75° ( Ruffo collection, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale , Verona , Italy). Type locality. Böcc d’la Büsa Pitta (cadastre number 2517 Pi /VC, coordinates WGS84 : 8.255532°E, 45.873458°N) GoogleMaps ,

Val Sabbiola, municipality of Varallo, province of Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy (in the paper by Moscardini, 1955, the municipality was Sabbia, suppressed in 2018 and aggregated to Varallo). Furthermore, Moscardini (1955) named the cave as “Boeuce dla Büsa pitta”, unknown to speleology up to that time, and the date of collection as 01.05.1953.

The specimens were collected in a pool of water in the entrance hall.The cave developed in schists.

Other material examined. Böcc d’la Büsa Pitta (2517 Pi/VC), 05.07.1997, legit M. Bodon, T. Pascutto, A. Balestrieri, 5 specimens; 22.04.2000, legit. S. Bugalla, 6 specimens; 06.10.2002, legit T. Pascutto, F. Stoch, G. Tomasin, 10 specimens; 28.03.2012, legit E. Lana (10 specimens, 4 of them preserved for DNA sequencing); all the specimens collected in the pool of percolating water located in the entrance hall. Mine Alpe Cima l’Ert, Valle Cervo, Quittengo, Biella (coordinates WGS84 : 8.015303° E, 45.668795° N), 22.02.1997, legit T. Pascutto (1 male, collected in a pool). Specimens used for DNA sequencing: Spring in Val di Rabbi , Trento ( Italy), 19/08/18, legit F. & S. Stoch; Costa Borgnone Spring , Switzerland, 29/05/2019, legit N. Bongni, R. Alther, F. Altermatt; Spring at Baerenburg , Andeer , Switzerland, 24/08/2021, 02/12/2021, legit M. Knüsel, R. Alther, F. Altermatt; Spring 1, Gordevio , Switzerland, 26/07/2021, 02/08/2021, legit M. Knüsel, R. Alther, F. Altermatt; Spring Anzonico , Faido , Switzerland, 02/12/2021, legit M. Knüsel, R. Alther, F. Altermatt; Spring at Chantarella , St. Moritz , Switzerland, 26/07/2021, legit M. Knüsel, R. Alther, F. Altermatt; Spring above Quellenberg, St. Moritz, Switzerland, 02/08/2021, legit M. Knüsel, R. Alther, F. Altermatt GoogleMaps .

Derivatio nominis. The new species is ded- icated to the speleologist Tiziano Pascutto, who helped trace the correct type locality and recollect topotypic material.

Description and remarks. The description reported by Karaman (1980) is complete and well illustrated; considering that the slides used for the drawings by Karaman (1980) are considered as the type material of the new species, there is no reason to repeat the description herein.

Remarks. The new species differs from N. bihorensis and N. absconditus n. sp. in several morphological characters. Antenna I slightly longer, exceeding half of body length; inner lobe of maxilla I with 2, occasionally with 3 setae (versus 1‒2 setae in the other two species); distal article of maxilla I palp bearing 8‒9 setae (versus 6‒7). Gnathopods with broader propodite, especially in gnathopod 2 broader than long, easily distinguishable from those of the previous species. Pereopods III‒ VII slender than in N. bihorensis and N. absconditus n. sp.; pereopods VI and VII with a narrow basipodite (up to 3 times longer than wide), margins subparallel and bearing longer anterior setae. Uropod I with outer ramus slightly longer than inner ramus in males (versus subequal rami in the other two species), with longer distal spines (similar to those of N. absconditus n. sp.). Telson with each lobe bearing 5‒7 long distal spines, as long as one half of lobe length, longer in female (versus 4‒5 shorter spines in the other two species, as long as one third of lobe length); a slender spine is sometimes present on the inner margin of each lobe, in the proximal part of the notch (feature never observed in the other two species). The above-mentioned characters are diagnostic and allow an easy distinction of N. tizianoi n. sp. from N. bihorensis and N. absconditus n. sp.

N. tizianoi n. sp. is distributed in the Western and Central Alps where it inhabits non-calcareous terrains (mainly subsurface groundwaters flowing in metamorphites); the type locality is a tectonic cave, where it inhabits small pools of percolating waters; all the other sites are Alpine springs. Some on the sites are located in areas covered by glaciers during the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM, 21 Kya: Clark et al., 2009) .

Diagnostic molecular characters. The species can be distinguished from N. bihorensis and from all other niphargid species on the basis of COI and 28S DNA sequences. All available sequences are reported in supplementary table S1.

Molecular diagnosis. ‘T’ at site 282, ‘C’ at site 313, ‘G’ at site 454; support: 99%