An updated and detailed taxonomical account of the large Branchiopoda (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca, Notostraca, Spinicaudata) from the Yale North India Expedition deposited in the Yale Peabody Natural History Museum

Abstract

We present an updated taxonomic account of a few of the large branchiopod species present in the collections of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Our study shows that the Artemia species in the collections is not Artemia salina given the presence of spines at the base of the penis and its frontal knob morphology. This population cannot be assigned to any particular species due to lack of comparative material of other Artemia species and therefore, now reduces the authentic distribution record of Artemia salina to just one in the subcontinent. The morphology of eggs taken from the Streptocephalus longimanus allotype is distinct from what has been described later by having lower number of polygons on the egg surface. The gross morphology of the Triops cancriformis from Punjab, Pakistan resembles those of the Kashmir population from India except for its larger size. Based on the morphological comparison, we show that Eocyzicus deterrana is indeed synonymous to E. hutchinsoni. This work further changes the total species tally of large branchiopods from 44 of the Indian subcontinent to 45.