New species of freshwater crustacea found in the hottest place on Earth


Date:
September 3, 2020
Source:
Taylor & Francis Group
Summary:
A new species of freshwater Crustacea has been discovered during an
expedition of the desert Lut, known as the hottest place on Earth.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new species of freshwater Crustacea has been discovered during an
expedition of the desert Lut, known as the hottest place on Earth.


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The newly identified species belongs to the genus Phallocryptus of
which only four species were previously known from different arid and
semiarid regions.

Dr Hossein Rajaei from the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History and
Dr Alexander V Rudov from Tehran University made the discovery during an expedition of Lut to better understand the desert's ecology, biodiversity, geomorphology and paleontology.

Further scientific examinations of the specimens by co-author Dr Martin Schwentner, Crustacea specialist from the Natural History Museum of
Vienna, stated that they belong to a new species of freshwater Crustacea.

Publishing their findings in Zoology in the Middle East, the biologists
name the new species Phallocryptus fahimii, in honor of the Iranian conservation biologist, Hadi Fahimi, who took part in the 2017 expedition
and sadly died in an airplane crash in 2018.

Dr Rajaei, an entomologist from State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart,
who actually found the species in a small seasonal lake in southern part
of the desert says the discovery is "sensational." "During an expedition
to such an extreme place you are always on alert, in particular when
finding water. Discovering crustaceans in this otherwise hot and dry environment was really sensational."


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The team's study explains how Phallocryptus fahimii differs in its overall morphology and its genetics from all other known Phallocryptus species.

Dr Schwentner, who has worked with similar crustaceans from the Australian deserts in the past, adds: "These Crustaceans are able to survive for
decades in the dried-out sediment and will hatch in an upcoming wet
season, when the aquatic habitat refills. They are perfectly adapted to
live in deserts environments. Their ability to survive even in the Lut
desert highlights their resilience." The Lut desert -- also known as
Dasht-e Lut -- is the second largest desert in Iran.

Located between 33DEG and 28DEG parallels and with its 51,800 km2 larger
than Switzerland, this desert holds the current record for the highest ever-recorded surface temperature. Based on 2006 satellite measurements,
the NASA reported a record surface temperature of 70.7DEGC, which
more recently has been increased to even 80.3DEGC. Dark pebbles that
heat up are one of the causes of these record temperatures. Mean daily temperatures range from -2.6DEGC in winter to 50.4DEGC in summer with
annual precipitation not exceeding 30 mm per year.

Almost deprived of vegetation, the Lut desert harbors a diverse animal
life, but no permanent aquatic biotops (such as ponds).

After rain falls, non-permanent astatic water bodies are filled including
the Rud-e-Shur river from north-western Lut.

Here a diverse community of Archaea has been described but aquatic life in
the Lut remains highly limited, which makes this find particularly rare.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Taylor_&_Francis_Group. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Martin Schwentner, Alexander V. Rudov, Hossein Rajaei. Some like
it hot:
Phallocryptus fahimii sp. n. (Crustacea: Anostraca:
Thamnocephalidae) from the Lut desert, the hottest
place on Earth. Zoology in the Middle East, 2020; 1 DOI:
10.1080/09397140.2020.1805139 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200903095641.htm

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