Author/Editor		Brancelj, Anton
Title		Male of Moraria radovnae Brancelj, 1988 (Copepoda: Crustacea), and notes on endemic and rare copepod species from Slovenia and neighbouring countries
Type		članek
Source		Hydrobiologia
Vol. and No.		Letnik 453-454
Publication year		2001
Volume		str. 513-24
Language		eng
Abstract		Slovenia (southeastern Europe, area 20000 km2) and neighbouring northeastern Italy (Venezia-Giulia) are rich with endemic taxa of Copepoda, most of them stygobionts. Untill now, only one could be considered as an epigean, rheophilic endemic taxon. In 1986 and 1987, several females were collected from the mountain Radovna River in northwestern Slovenia. They were recognised as new subspecies and described as Moraria pectinata radovnae Brancelj, 1988. Ten years later, three males and two females were found in a small mountain brook in northeastern Slovenia (about 100 km from loc. typ.) in different geology. This gave an opportunity to raise the taxon to the specific level. The male of M. radovnae differs clearly from M. pectinata Thiebaud and Pelosse, 1928; also it is evident that both taxa are closely related. A detailed description of the male of M. radovnae Brancelj, 1988 is given. Based on data from the literature and reports, 14 endemic taxa are found exclusively in Slovenia, and an additional 5 taxa have their type localities (loc. typ.) there. Several more taxa were described, but later they were synonymised. Five endemic taxa, namely piacyclops hypogeus (Kiefer, 1930), Nitocredla sdovenica Petkovski, 1959, Elaphoidella franci Petkovski 1983, E. kieferi Petkovski and Brancelj, 1985, and Paracamptus gasparoa Stoch, 1998, were reported only once. Three endemics were found on several occasions at the same location, and six taxa were found in more than one location within Slovenia. Of these, only Elaphoidella stammeri Chappuis, 1936, could be considered as a common endemic species. Most of the endemics were found exclusively in percolating water in caves. The five taxa with loc. typ. in Slovenia are known in some areas of neighbouring countries, namely Italy and Croatia.
Descriptors		CRUSTACEA ECOSYSTEM FRESH WATER SLOVENIA