New species of troglobitic shrimps from Mexico, with the description of Troglomexicanus, new genus (Decapoda: Palaemonidae)

Abstract

A new genus of cavernicolous fresh-water palaemonid shrimp, Troglomexicanus, and two new species, T. tamaulipasensis and T. huastecae, are described from El Abra limestone caves in the states of San Luis Potosf and Tamaulipas, northeastern Mexico. Troglomexicanus includes T. perezfarfantae, formerly in the genus Troglocubanus, distributed also in El Abra limestone caves. The following characters shared by the 3 species support the creation of the new genus: rostrum without dorsal or ventral teeth, maxilla with single-lobed endite, bilobed epipodite of first maxilliped, second maxilliped without podobranch, and absence of antennal, hepatic, or branchiostegal spines of carapace. The maxilla with single-lobed endite and a bilobed epipodite of first maxilliped are two characters not shared with any other genus in the subfamily Palaemoninae.