The description of a new species of Niphargus from Iran based on morphological and molecular data

Abstract

The freshwater amphipods of the genus Niphargus Schiödte, 1849 are widespread in subterranean waters of the western Palearctic. The eastern half of the genus range has been incompletely studied despite the presence of karstic areas and large aquifers. In this paper, we describe a new species from Hamedan Province in Iran and name it as N. hakani sp. n. This species hypothesis is based on the analysis of morphological characters and 28S ribosomal DNA sequences. The taxonomic status of the new species within the genus is discussed in comparison to the known Iranian species. Results revealed that this species is phylogenetically close to N. khwarizmi and is morphologically similar to N. borisi.