Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5831 No. 2: 15 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5831.2.4
Page range: 219-232
Abstract views: 76
PDF downloaded: 9

Description of a new species of Eucypris Vávra, 1891 (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from a hot spring in western Türkiye

Department of Biology; Faculty of Science; University of Marmara; 34722; Kadýköy/Istanbul; Türkiye
Crustacea Cyprididae new taxa geothermal habitat thermal tolerance Anatolia

Abstract

A new freshwater ostracod species, Eucypris kulkoyluoglui sp. nov., is described from a low-temperature geothermal rheocrene spring in western Türkiye based on detailed morphological examination of female and male specimens, and is distinguished from its congeners by a unique combination of diagnostic characters (e.g., natatory setae exceeding the antennal claw tips; mandibular terminal segment with three long and one short smooth claws; maxillule terminal segment with four well-developed smooth setae; first thoracopod endopod two-segmented; d2 seta absent on the second thoracopod). Eucypris kulkoyluoglui sp. nov. shows notable morphological similarities to the recently described Cypriot species E. denktasi and E. lefkosaensis, including the absence of the d2 seta on the second thoracopod. These shared features may suggest a possible affinity among these species and could reflect regional biogeographic patterns. In males of the new species, the presence of distinctive clasping organs, hemipenes with triangular outer processes, and a reduced number of whorls in the Zenker organ distiguishes them from other Eucypris males. In addition to this, a strongly female-biased sex ratio could be associated with a mixed reproductive system combining sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction. The occurrence of E. kulkoyluoglui sp. nov. in an environmentally extreme yet stable geothermal spring suggests notable thermal tolerance and ecological specialization, highlighting geothermal freshwater systems as overlooked reservoirs of ostracod diversity.

References

  1. Akdemir, D., Külköylüoglu, O., Yavuzatmaca, M., Tanyeri, M., Gürer, M., Alper, A., Dere, S., Çelen, E., Yılmaz, O. & Özcan, G. (2020) Ecological characteristics and habitat preferences of Ostracoda (Crustacea) with a new bisexual population record (Muðla, Turkey). Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 18, 1471–1487. https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1801_14711487
  2. Batmaz, F., Yavuzatmaca, M. & Külköylüoglu, O. (2024) Description of a new species (Eucypris dorlionensis sp. nov.) (Ostracoda, Crustacea) from Türkiye and a cladistic analysis of the genus Eucypris. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 48, 113–127. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0179.3166
  3. Brues, C.T. (1927) Animal life in hot springs. Quarterly Review of Biology, 2, 181–203.
  4. Fischer, S. (1851) Abhandlung über das Genus Cypris und dessen in der Umgebung von St Petersburg und von Fall bei Reval vorkommenden Arten. Mémoires de l‘Académie impériale des sciences de St. Pétersbourg, 7, 127–167.
  5. Furtos, N.C. (1933) The Ostracoda of Ohio. Ohio Biological Survey, 5 (6), 413–524.
  6. Hartmann, G. (1964) Asiatische Ostracoden, systematische und zoogeographische Untersuchungen. Internationale Revue der Gesamten Hydrobiologie, Systematische Beihefte, 3, 1–155.
  7. Horne, D.J. & Martens, K. (1998) Geographical parthenogenesis in European non-marine ostracods: post-glacial invasion or Holocene stability? Hydrobiologia, 391, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1003508210166
  8. Horne, D.J., Meisch, C. & Martens, K. (2019) Arthropoda: Ostracoda. In: Thorp, J.H. & Covich, A.P. (Eds.), Thorp and Covich’s Freshwater Invertebrates. Academic Press, pp. 725–760. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-385024-9.00019-8
  9. Hu, Q., Zhu, B., Ma, Z., Yang, Y., Deng, Z., Wen, S. & Ma, X. (2025) Influence of river valleys on genetic diversity and species distribution patterns of Cyprididae (Crustacea: Ostracoda) on the Tibetan Plateau. Ecology and Evolution, 15, e71759. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71759
  10. Jurine, L. (1820) Histoire des Monocles, qui se trouvent aux environs de Genève. J.J. Paschoud, Genève, XVI + 274 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.10137
  11. Karanovic, I. (2012) Recent freshwater ostracods of the world: Crustacea, Ostracoda, Podocopida. Springer, Heidelberg, 623 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21810-1
  12. Klie, W. (1937) Süßwasserorganismen aus dem Elbursgebirge (Persien). 2. Teil: Ostracoda. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 119, 207–211.
  13. Kreiling, A.K., Govoni, D.P., Pálsson, S., Ólafsson, J.S. & Kristjánsson, B.K. (2022) Invertebrate communities in springs across a gradient in thermal regimes. PLoS ONE, 17, e0264501. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264501
  14. Külköylüoglu, O., Meisch, C. & Rust, R.W. (2003) Thermopsis thermophila n. gen., n. sp. from hot springs in Nevada, USA (Crustacea, Ostracoda). Hydrobiologia, 499, 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026308514466
  15. Külköylüoglu, O. & Özdilek, A. (2024) Two new species of the genus Eucypris (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from Northern Cyprus. Zootaxa, 5506, 58–78. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5506.1.3
  16. Meisch, C. (2000) Freshwater Ostracoda of Western and Central Europe. In: Schwoerbel, J. & Zwick, P. (Eds.), Süßwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa, 8/3. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Berlin, 522 pp.
  17. Meisch, C., Smith, R.J. & Martens, K. (2024) An updated subjective global checklist of the extant non-marine Ostracoda (Crustacea). European Journal of Taxonomy, 974, 1–144. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2024.974.2767
  18. Mesquita-Joanes, F., Smith, A.J. & Viehberg, F.A. (2012) The ecology of Ostracoda across levels of biological organisation from individual to ecosystem: a review of recent developments and future potential. Developments in Quaternary Science, 17, 15–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53636-5.00002-0
  19. Petkovski, T.K. & Keyser, D. (1997) Eucypris kurtdiebeli: Ersatzname für Eucypris diebeli Petkovski & Keyser, 1995 (Crustacea, Ostracoda). Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 94, 187.
  20. Pop, M.M., Di Lorenzo, T. & Iepure, S. (2023) Living on the edge: an overview of invertebrates from groundwater habitats prone to extreme environmental conditions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 1054841. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1054841
  21. Schäfer, H.W. (1952) Über Süßwasser-Ostracoden aus der Türkei. Hidrobiologi, Series B, 1, 7–32.
  22. Schmit, O., Fukova, I., Vandekerkhove, J., Michalakis, Y., Matzke-Karasz, R., Rossetti, G., Martens, K. & Mesquita-Joanes, F. (2013) Mate recognition as a reproductive barrier in sexual and parthenogenetic Eucypris virens (Crustacea, Ostracoda). Animal Behaviour, 85 (5), 977–985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.02.021
  23. Siveter, D.J., Tanaka, G., Farrell, U.C., Martin, M.J., Siveter, D.J. & Briggs, D.E.G. (2014) Exceptionally preserved 450-million-year-old Ordovician ostracods with brood care. Current Biology, 24, 801–806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.040
  24. Springer, A.E. & Stevens, L.E. (2008) Spheres of discharge of springs. Hydrogeology Journal, 17 (1), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-008-0341-y
  25. Tagliasacchi Masala, M.L. (1969) Descrizione di due nuove specie di Ostracodi della Sardegna: Eucypris caralitana ed Eucypris stagnalis (Morfologia, Ecologia e Biologia). Rendiconti del Seminario della Facoltà di Scienze dell’Università di Cagliari, 39 (3/4), 1–26.
  26. Wickstrom, C.E. & Castenholz, R.W. (1985) Dynamics of cyanobacterial and ostracod interactions in an Oregon hot spring. Ecology, 66, 1024–1041. https://doi.org/10.2307/1940563
  27. Yavuzatmaca, M., Külköylüoglu, O. & Ataman, A. (2026) Assessment of the influence of species’ functional traits–environmental variable associations on the occurrence and abundance of non-marine Ostracoda (Crustacea) in Manisa Province (Türkiye). Aquatic Sciences, 88, 22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-025-01255-2
  28. Yılmaz, Y. (2021) Geological correlation between northern Cyprus and southern Anatolia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 58, 640–657. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2020-0129

How to Cite

Akdemi̇r D. (2026) Description of a new species of Eucypris Vávra, 1891 (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from a hot spring in western Türkiye. Zootaxa, 5831 (2), 219–232. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5831.2.4