First records of a leptestherid clam shrimp in Australia (Crustacea, Spinicaudata, Leptestheriidae, Eoleptestheria)

Abstract

Eoleptestheriaticinensis, a highly variable Eurasian species, was collected from three widely separated sites in northern Australia. Each population is described and compared with the eight described species of Eoleptestheria, now all synonyms of E. ticinensis. It is postulated that the Australian occurrences of these clam shrimps are initiated or maintained by dispersal due to migrating birds from China. Taxonomy, Eoleptestheria ticinensis, biogeography, dispersal, morphological variability