An updated checklist of groundwater crustaceans of India

Abstract

Abstract Only eight groundwater crustacean species were known in India till the end of 20th century. Analysis of about 4000 samples collected during 2000-2016 from diverse groundwater habitats, especially in certain pockets of the deltaic belt of the Rivers Krishna and Godavari in the southeastern peninsular India, has so far yielded about 90 new crustacean taxa. Of these, 67 new species have been described formally, which include, respectively, 34, 27, 3, 2 and 1 species each of Copepoda, Bathynellacea, Amphipoda, Isopoda and Ostracoda. The updated checklist presented herein includes a total of 87 species in 45 genera, 22 families and 8 orders. For each species, the reference to its original description, type locality, distribution, and ecological notes, co-occurring fauna, if any, and sampling method(s) are given. Besides map-pointing the type localities of the species, brief notes are given on the biogeography and conservation.