Crymostygidae, a new family of subterranean freshwater gammaridean amphipods (Crustacea) recorded from subarctic Europe

Crymostygidae, a new family of gammaridean amphipods (Crustacea), is described from Iceland. The family is based on a new species and genus, Crymostygius thingvallensis, found in spring inlets feeding Lake Thingvallavatn, south-west Iceland. This is the first report of a stygobiont freshwater amphip...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of natural history 2004-08, Vol.38 (15), p.1881-1894
Main Authors: Kristjánsson, B. K., Svavarsson, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphipoda
Crangonyctoidea
Crymostygidae
Crymostygius
Crymostygius thingvallensis
Freshwater
Gammaridae
groundwater
Ice-age survival
Iceland
stygobiont
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Description
Summary:Crymostygidae, a new family of gammaridean amphipods (Crustacea), is described from Iceland. The family is based on a new species and genus, Crymostygius thingvallensis, found in spring inlets feeding Lake Thingvallavatn, south-west Iceland. This is the first report of a stygobiont freshwater amphipod from Iceland and the northern-most report of a stygobiont species in Europe. The species apparently survived Pliocene and Pleistocene glaciations in the groundwater of a porous lava and may have persisted in Iceland for several million years.
ISSN:0022-2933
1464-5262
DOI:10.1080/00222930310001597295