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Abstract

After a minute study of the structure of the 8th male pereiopod in some Bathynella populations from Romania and England, the structure differences which were found allowed to identify two well individualized kinds of pereiopods; they were named type natans and type stammeri. Taking into account the striking differences between these two types, B. stammeri (Jakobi), which since 1954 is considered to be a subspecies of the natans species, was separated out of the species B. natans sensu Jakobi (1954). The populations understudied were collected in England and Romania, their minute study being the object of an other note, collaboration with T. Gledhill. The facts led to the conclusion that Jakobi’s opinion (1954), which dominated the taxonomy of this group, doesn’t entirely correspond to the reality, the two taxonomical units being characterized as follows: - Bathynella natans Vejdovsky, characterized by the 8th male pereiopod (fig. I A) with a triangular, well developed anterior plate (fig. 3 A-D-a; 7 A-D), of the same length with the exopodit, a cylindrical internal lobe (fig. 3 A-D-b,) and a little lobe (fig. 3 A-D-c) of a reduced size; - Bathynella stammeri (Jakobi) differing from the first with respect to the anterior pinte (fig. 2 A-D-a; 6A-C) which is rectangular in shape and has a prolongation in the distal outer angle, to the conelike internal lobe (fig. 2 AD-b), and to the little lobe (fig. 2 A-D-d) which is twolobed in this case. After discussion on the relationship between B. catena Vejd. and B. stammeri (Jakobi) it is shown that differences observed in the 8th male pereiopod structure give important indications about the above species to the effect that they are not very closely related. If one takes into account also their wide spreading area, and the individualisation of some populations due to important, characteristic traits - we are obliged to classify them into two different sub-genera. In the first one, the species catena is included - which will keep by this way the very name of the genus, and in the second, termed here Antrobathynella, the species stammeri. In conclusion, what was till now considered as Bathynella natans Vejdovsky sensu Jakobi, was divided into two distinct species — each of them pertaining to two different sub-genera, that is: Bathynella (Bathynella) natans Vejdovsky and Bathynella (Antrobathynella) stammeri (Jakobi). It is demonstrated that the synonymy Jakobi made between B.chappuisi and B. natans is perfectly true under the new conditions too, because it was Delachaux (1919) who rediscovered B.natans Vejd., not Chappuis (1914). The material found by Chappuis in Basel (1914) appears to pertain to B. stammeri (Jakobi) differing both from the individuals from the Grotte de Ver (Delachaux, 1919) and from Prague (Vejdovsky, 1882).

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.2.1.10

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