Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5757 No. 1: 3 Feb. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-02-03
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5757.1.3
Page range: 39-52
Abstract views: 12
PDF downloaded: 0

Gammarus elifedae sp. nov., description of a new amphipod (Amphipoda: Gammaridae) species from Sarpunalınca Cave (Kastamonu, Türkiye), with an updated key for the Turkish freshwater Gammarus species

Department of Marine-Inland Waters Sciences and Technology; Faculty of Fisheries; Ege University; Bornova - İzmir; Türkiye
Crustacea Hypogean habitat horizontal cave biospeleology Küre Mountains turkey

Abstract

As a result of the increasing number of studies in recent years, strong evidence has emerged that the amphipod biodiversity in freshwater Türkiye is higher than previously thought. As a result of sampling in the Sarpunalınca Cave in Küre Mountains National Park in the north of Anatolia, Türkiye, a new amphipod species, Gammarus elifedae sp. nov., was described. The type locality, Sarpunalınca Cave, is a horizontal cave with 1683 m length. Although the newly described species was sampled from inside the cave, it has well-developed eyes, and its extremities are slightly elongated. Gammarus elifedae sp. nov., a typical Gammarus balcanicus-group species, has short setae on the posterior margins of its 3rd and 4th pereopods. Two male individuals were sampled, but no female individual was present. The holotype male has a body length of 18.5 mm and all extremities, including the mouthparts, are drawn and described in detail. Additionally, an identification key covering all species of the genus Gammarus identified from fresh waters of Türkiye (separately for pulex-, roeseli- and balcanicus- groups) is presented.

 

References

  1. Baytaşoğlu, H. & Gözler, A.M. (2018) Seasonal changes of Malacostraca (Crustacea) fauna of the upper Çoruh River Basin (Bayburt Province, Turkey) and its ecological characteristics. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 18 (3), 367–375. https://doi.org/10.4194/1303-2712-v18_3_02
  2. Coleman, C.O. (2003) “Digital inking”: How to make perfect line drawings on computers. Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 3, 303–304. https://doi.org/10.1078/1439-6092-00081
  3. Fišer, C., Çamur-Elipek, B. & Özbek, M. (2009) The subterranean genus Niphargus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in the Middle East: A faunistic overview with descriptions of two new species. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 248, 137–150.
  4. Fišer, C., Trontelj, P., Luštrik, R. & Sket, B. (2009) Toward a unified taxonomy of Niphargus (Crustacea: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2009.03.003
  5. Amphipoda): A review of morphological variability. Zootaxa, 2061 (1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2061.1.1
  6. İpek, M. & Özbek, M. (2022) An updated and annotated checklist of the Malacostraca (Crustacea) species inhabiting Turkish inland waters. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 46, 14–66.
  7. Jażdżewski, K. & Konopacka, A. (1989) Gammarus leopoliensis nov. sp. (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Eastern Carpathians. Bulletin Zoologisch Museum Universiteit van Amsterdam, 11 (23), 185–196.
  8. Karaman, G.S. (1973) Contribution to the knowledge of the Amphipoda. Some new or very interesting Gammarus species from southern Europe and Asia Minor. Poljoprivreda i Šumarstvo, 19 (3), 1–42.
  9. Karaman, G.S. (2012a) New data on subterranean Niphargidae (Amphipoda, Gammaridea) from Turkey (Contribution to the knowledge of the Amphipoda 259). Natura Montenegrina, 11, 53–71.
  10. Karaman, G.S. (2012b) Niphargus religiosus sp. nov., with remarks on Amathillina cristata (Gammaridae) in Turkey (Contribution to the knowledge of the Amphipoda 257). Agriculture and Forestry, 53, 49–76.
  11. Karaman, G.S. & Pinkster, S. (1977) Freshwater Gammarus species from Europe, North Africa and adjacent regions of Asia (Crustacea—Amphipoda). Part I: Gammarus pulex-group and related species. Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 47, 1–97. https://doi.org/10.1163/26660644-04701001
  12. Karaman, G.S. & Pinkster, S. (1987) Freshwater Gammarus species from Europe, North Africa and adjacent regions of Asia (Crustacea—Amphipoda). Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 57, 207–260. https://doi.org/10.1163/26660644-05702005
  13. Özbek, M. (2007) Gammarus izmirensis sp. nov., a new species of freshwater amphipod from Turkey (Amphipoda, Gammaridae). Crustaceana, 80 (11), 1317–1325. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854007782605592
  14. Özbek, M. (2012a) A new freshwater amphipod species, Gammarus obruki sp. nov., from Turkey (Amphipoda: Gammaridae). Turkish Journal of Zoology, 36, 567–575. https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-1112-2
  15. Özbek, M. (2012b) A new freshwater amphipod species, Gammarus katagani sp. nov., from Turkey (Amphipoda: Gammaridae). Zoology in the Middle East, 55, 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2012.10648917
  16. Özbek, M. & Aydin, G. (2023) A new amphipod from the depths of the Morca Sinkhole (Anamur, Türkiye): Gammarus morcae sp. nov. (Amphipoda: Gammaridae), with notes on cavernicolous amphipods of Türkiye. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 47, 81–93. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0179.3118
  17. Özbek, M. & Güloğlu, O. (2005) A new cave amphipod from Turkey: Gammarus ustaoglui sp. nov. Israel Journal of Zoology, 51 (2), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.1560/2WME-1HKT-QDD2-B3P9
  18. Özbek, M. & Güloğlu, O. (2019) A second new amphipod species from the Peynirlikönü Cave (EGMA Cave): Gammarus egmao sp. nov. (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 36 (3), 201–210. https://doi.org/10.12714/egejfas.2019.36.3.01
  19. Özbek, M., Aksu, İ. & Baytaşoğlu, H. (2023b) A new freshwater amphipod (Amphipoda, Gammaridae), Gammarus tumaf sp. nov., from the Gökgöl Cave, Türkiye. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 99 (1), 15–27. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.99.89957
  20. Özbek, M., Baytaşoğlu, H. & Aksu, İ. (2023a) A new freshwater amphipod (Amphipoda, Gammaridae) from the Fakıllı Cave, Düzce Türkiye: Gammarus kunti sp. nov. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 99 (2), 473–487. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.99.108048
  21. Schäferna, K. (1923) Amphipoda balcanica, spolu s poznámkami o jiných sladkovodních Amphipodech. Mémoires de la Société Royale des Sciences de Bohême, Classe des Sciences, 12, 1–111.
  22. Schellenberg, A. (1937) Kritische Bemerkungen zur Systematik der Süßwassergammariden. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere, 69, 469–516.
  23. Väinölä, R., Witt, J.D.S., Grabowski, M., Bradbury, J.H., Jażdżewski, K. & Sket, B. (2008) Global diversity of amphipods (Amphipoda; Crustacea) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia, 595, 241–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9020-6
  24. Vávra, V. (1905) Rotatorien und Crustaceen. Annalen des Kaiserlich-Königlichen Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums in Wien, 20, 106–112.
  25. World Amphipoda Database. (2024) Gammarus Fabricius, 1775. Available from: https://www.marinespecies.org/amphipoda/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=101537 (accessed 9 December 2025)
  26. Yamaç, A., Gilli, E., Tok, E. & Törk, K. (2021) Cave and Karst Systems of the World. Vol. 1. Springer, Cham, xxvii + 309 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65501-3_1

How to Cite

Özbek, M. (2026) Gammarus elifedae sp. nov., description of a new amphipod (Amphipoda: Gammaridae) species from Sarpunalınca Cave (Kastamonu, Türkiye), with an updated key for the Turkish freshwater Gammarus species. Zootaxa, 5757 (1), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.1.3