The record of new for the Russian fauna stygobiotic amphipod family Typhlogammaridae (Crustacea) in August Cave in Sochi, Krasnodar Region

Abstract

The record of the representative of the new for Russian fauna stygobiotic amphipod genus Zenkevitchia and family Typhlogammaridae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) discovered in the cave August, Ahshtyr karst massif (Sochi, Krasnodar Territory) is reported. This report significantly expands the range of the family Typhlogammaridae to the northwest along the south-western slope of the Great Caucasus. Besides, the paper provides an overview of all Caucasian representatives of the family Typhlogammaridae and represent the map of their distribution in the region. The taxonomic status of stygobiotic amphipod genus Zenkevitchia is discussed, and it is suggested that the species discovered by us is a new for science and refers to the "admirabilis"-complex of cryptic species (Z. admirabilis, Z. yakovi) inhabiting the territory of Abkhazia. However, the taxonomic description of Zenkevitchia sp. will be carried out in a separate publication on the basis of an integrative taxonomy using morphological and molecular genetic methods.

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Ukrainian Journal of Ecology
Ukrainian Journal of Ecology,
2017, 7(4)
,
465–468,
doi:
10.15421/2017_144
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The record of new for the Russian fauna stygobiotic amphipod
family Typhlogammaridae (Crustacea) in August cave
in Sochi, Krasnodar Region
I.S. Turbanov 1,2, I.N. Marin 3,4
1I. D. Papanin Institute of the Biology of Inland Waters, Borok, Yaroslavl Region, Russia.
2Cherepovets State University, Cherepovets, Vologda Region, Russia.
3A. N. Severtzov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of RAS, Moscow, Russia.
4Biological Department, Altai State University, Barnaul, Altai Region, Russia.
Email: coralliodecapoda@mail.ru, vanomarin@yahoo.com
Submitted: 21.09.2017. Accepted: 04.12.2017
The record of the representative of the new for Russian fauna stygobiotic amphipod genus
Zenkevitchia
and family
Typhlogammaridae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) discovered in the cave August, Ahshtyr karst massif (Sochi, Krasnodar Territory) is
reported. This report significantly expands the range of the family Typhlogammaridae to the northwest along the south-western
slope of the Great Caucasus. Besides, the paper provides an overview of all Caucasian representatives of the family
Typhlogammaridae and represent the map of their distribution in the region. The taxonomic status of stygobiotic amphipod
genus
Zenkevitchia
is discussed, and it is suggested that the species discovered by us is a new for science and refers to the
"
admirabilis"
-complex of cryptic species (
Z. admirabilis, Z. yakovi
) inhabiting the territory of Abkhazia. However, the taxonomic
description of
Zenkevitchia
sp. will be carried out in a separate publication on the basis of an integrative taxonomy using
morphological and molecular genetic methods.
Key words:
Zenkevitchia
; taxonomic status; complex of species; distribution; Abkhazia; Caucasus
Introduction
Caucasian hypogean fauna represent a high biodiversity of closely related endemic cryptic species specific to each karst massif
following the diversity of Balkan (Dinaric) hypogean fauna in Europe. Relatively few data from the karst regions of the Caucasus
indicate the extreme richness of the fauna with more than 180 described endemic troglo- and stygobiotic species (see review
in Marin and Sokolova, 2014; Turbanov and Marin, 2015; Marin, 2015, 2017; Marin & Sinelnikov, 2017; review in Turbanov et
al., 2016a-c). At the same time, the degree of study of the Balkan hypogean communities considerably exceeds that of the
Caucasian ones, especially in Russian sector of Caucasus Mountains.
The stygobiotic amphipod family Typhlogammaridae Bousfield, 1978 is currently considered to be endemic for groundwater of
the Balkan and Caucasian karst regions including 6 genera with 10 valid species (Väinölä et al., 2008; Lowry and Myers, 2012;
Sidorov et al., 2015а, b; Sidorov, 2016). Among them, 5 genera are monotypic and strictly endemic while the genus
Zenkevitchia
Birstein, 1940 with 5 known species shows a relatively wide radiation. Status of two monotypic Caucasian stygobiotic amphipod
genera
Anopogammarus
Derzhavin, 1945 and
Kruberia
Sidorov & Samokhin, 2016 are questionable but presently they are
referring to the family Gammaridae (Sidorov et al., 2015b; Sidorov and Samokhin, 2016).

Ukrainian Journal of Ecology, 7(4), 2017
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466
Representatives of
Zenkevitchia
and
Adaugammarus
Sidorov, Gontcharov & Sharina, 2015 are known from the territory of the
Caucasus (Birstein, 1940a, b; Birstein and Ljovuschkin, 1970; Sidorov et al., 2015a, b; Sidorov, 2016) (see Fig. 1).
Adaugammarus pilosus
Sidorov, Gontcharov & Sharina, 2015 is known from the Sarma Cave (Arabika massif) at depths of -1270
to -1700 meters (Sidorov et al., 2015b). Among
Zenkevitchia
,
Z.
admirabilis
Birstein, 1940 is described from Andreevskaya Cave
(=Akhalshenia) near Sukhum, Abkhazia (Birstein, 1940a) and underground part of the Chornaya River flowing from Mchishta
Cave (Derzhavin, 1945), Tarkila Cave (=Tarkiladze), New Athos Cave (=Novoafonskaya, Anokopiyskaya), Tsebeldinskaya, Upper
Shakuran (=Verkhnyaya Shakuranskaya), Middle Shakuran (=Srednyaya Shakuranskaya) and Lower Shakuran (=Nizhnyaya
Shakuranskaya) caves (Birstein, 1940b; Birstein and Ljovuschkin, 1970).
According to the data (Sidorov et al., 2015a, b)
Z. admirabilis
from the above caves is a complex of species, which later was
shown by the description of a number of new species.
Zenkevitchia revazi
Birstein & Ljovuschkin, 1970 is exclusively recorded
from Motena Cave, Askhi karst massif, Western Georgia.
Recently described
Zenkevitchia yakovi
Sidorov, 2015
was discovered from Lower Shakuran and Tsebeldinskaya caves on the
basis of molecular genetic analysis and morphological differences (Sidorov et al., 2015a), and marked for Abrskila and Golova
Otapa caves (Sidorov, 2016).
Z. sandroruffoi
Sidorov, Gontcharov & Sharina, 2015 is described from Sarma, Trojka and Orlinoe
Gnezdo caves of Arabika karst massif (Sidorov et al., 2015b) and
Z. karamani
Sidorov, 2016 is from Novoafonskaya Cave
(Sidorov, 2016).
In addition, there is an indication of undescribed species on typhlogammarid amphipods from Krubera Cave from a depth of -
1697 meters, which seems to be a new genus (Turbanov, 2015). According to the literature, all records of representatives of
Typhlogammaridae in the Caucasus are reported from the territory of Abkhazia, with the exception of
Z. revazi
reported from
Western Georgia (Fig. 1). Up to date, representatives of the family Typhlogammaridae have never been recorded from the
territory of Russian Federation (Takhteev et al., 2015) due to feebly studied hypogean fauna of Russian fauna of the southern
slope of the Caucasian ridge.
At the same time, during the biospeleological survey in the Ahshtyr karst massif on the territory of Sochi (Krasnodar Region,
Russia), we found stygobiotic amphipods clearly referring to typhlogammarid genus Zenkevitchia in the newly discovered
Avgust Cave (Fig. 2).
Thus, this is the first reliable record of the genus as well as the family Typhlogammaridae in fauna of Russia, expanding the
area distribution of Typhlogammaridae to the northwest part of the Caucasus. Specimens of Zenkevitchia sp. from Avgust Cave
are morphologically similar to Z. admirabilis and Z. yakovi, and referring to cryptic species within Z. admirabilis species complex.
The species will be recently described based on integrative taxonomy using morphological and molecular genetic data.
Fig. 1. Map of the distribution of representatives of the family Typhlogammaridae in the territory of the Western Caucasus.
1 – Avgust Cave; 2 – Krubera Cave; 3 – Sarma Cave; 4 – Trojka Cave; 5 – Orlinoe Gnezdo Cave; 6 – Mchishta Cave; 7 – Tarkila
Cave; 8 – New Athos Cave; 9 – Andreevskaya Cave; 10 – Tsebeldinskaya Cave; 11 – Upper Shakuran Cave; 12 – Middle
Shakuran Cave; 13 – Lower Shakuran Cave; 14 – Golova Otapa Cave; 15 – Abrskila Cave; 16 – Motena Cave.

467
The record of new for the Russian fauna stygobiotic amphipod
Ukrainian Journal of Ecology, 7(4), 2017
Fig. 2. Fixed specimens of
Zenkevitchia
sp. from Avgust Cave, massif Ahshtyr, Sochi, Krasnodar Region, Russia.
Acknowledgments
Authors are very thankful to Y. V. Zakharova, O. O. Lesnevsky, A. V. Shishimorov and N. V. Muzalevskaya (Sochi Branch of the
Russian Geographical Society) for the assistance and assistance in collecting the material.
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Citation:
Turbanov, I.S., Marin, I.N. (2017). The record of new for the Russian fauna stygobiotic amphipod family Typhlogammaridae (Crustacea) in
august cave in Sochi, Krasnodar Region.
Ukrainian Journal of Ecology, 7
(4), 465–468.
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