| Gammarus hyalelloides | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Amphipoda |
| Family: | Gammaridae |
| Genus: | Gammarus |
| Species: | G. hyalelloides |
| Binomial name | |
| Gammarus hyalelloides Cole, 1976 | |
Gammarus hyalelloides is a species of amphipod crustacean in the family Gammaridae. It is endemic to four springs in Jeff Davis County and Reeves County, Texas, and is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. [1]
Gammarus hyalelloides is the smallest freshwater amphipod in North America. Males are 5.8–7.8 mm (0.23–0.31 in) long, while sexually mature females are 5.0–7.3 mm (0.20–0.29 in). [2] They live in beds of Chara at the mouth of Phantom Lake Spring. [2]
Gammarus hyalelloides makes up more than 70% of the diet of Gambusia nobilis in the Phantom Lake Spring refuge ( 30°56′5″N103°50′58″W / 30.93472°N 103.84944°W ) in Jeff Davis County, Texas. [3] Other biota found in the Phantom Lake Spring include the snails Pyrgulopsis texana and Lyrodes cheatumi . [2] The absence of Hyalella azteca may have allowed speciation to take place in the genus Gammarus , with one species entering the vacant niche, and reducing in size to become G. hyalelloides. [2]
The first collections of G. hyalelloides were made in 1967 at the Phantom Lake Spring. [2] The amphipods were originally thought to be the common and widespread Hyalella azteca , but were later recognized as a new and distinct species of Gammarus . [2]
The type specimens were deposited in the United States National Museum (holotype male: USNM 151957; paratype female: USNM 151958). Further paratype series were deposited at the same museum, and at the National Museum of Canada. [2]
G. hyalelloides is part of the Gammarus pecos species complex, alongside Gammarus pecos and Gammarus desperatus ; all three species are restricted to the Pecos River basin of Texas and New Mexico. [4]
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower Pecos Valley in New Mexico, and a portion of southeastern Arizona, as well as the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau. It is bordered on the west by the Sonoran Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, along with northwestern lowlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental range. Its largest, continual expanse is located in Mexico, covering a large portion of the state of Chihuahua, along with portions of Coahuila, north-eastern Durango, the extreme northern part of Zacatecas, and small western portions of Nuevo León. With an area of about 501,896 km2 (193,783 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in North America. The desert is fairly young, existing for only 8000 years.
Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from 1 to 340 millimetres and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far described. They are mostly marine animals, but are found in almost all aquatic environments. Some 1,900 species live in fresh water, and the order also includes the terrestrial sandhoppers such as Talitrus saltator and Arcitalitrus sylvaticus.
Gammarus pulex is a species of amphipod crustacean found in fresh water across much of Europe. It is a greyish animal, growing to 21 mm (0.83 in) long.
Gammarus roeselii is a species of freshwater amphipod native to Europe.
Pomphorhynchus laevis is an endo-parasitic acanthocephalan worm, with a complex life cycle, that can modify the behaviour of its intermediate host, the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex. P. laevis does not contain a digestive tract and relies on the nutrients provided by its host species. In the fish host this can lead to the accumulation of lead in P. laevis by feeding on the bile of the host species.
Assiminea pecos is a rare species of snail in the family Assimineidae known by the common name Pecos assiminea. It is native to New Mexico and Texas in the United States. Specimens known from Mexico are now treated as members of a separate species, Assiminea cienegensis. The Pecos assiminea was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 2005.
The phantom cave snail or phantom cavesnail is a species of very small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod in the family Hydrobiidae.
Allocrangonyx is a genus of troglobitic amphipod crustaceans from the South Central United States. The two species are both listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The animals are blind and unpigmented. During the male's development, the outer ramus of the third uropod differentiates into secondary segments and grows to a length greater than the animal's body length.
Gammarus acherondytes, the Illinois cave amphipod, is a species of crustacean in the family Gammaridae. The crustacean is endemic to the Illinois Sinkhole Plain of Monroe County and St. Clair County, in southwestern Illinois, including Illinois Caverns State Natural Area.
Gammarus is an amphipod crustacean genus in the family Gammaridae. It contains more than 200 described species, making it one of the most species-rich genera of crustaceans. Different species have different optimal conditions, particularly in terms of salinity, and different tolerances; Gammarus pulex, for instance, is a purely freshwater species, while Gammarus locusta is estuarine, only living where the salinity is greater than 25‰.
Gammarus desperatus, commonly known as Noel's Amphipod, is a species of small, amphipod crustacean in the family Gammaridae.
Gammarus pecos, commonly known as the Pecos amphipod, is a species of crustacean in family Gammaridae. It is endemic to Pecos County, Texas in the United States, where it is known from only two locations: Diamond Y Spring and Leon Creek.
Stygobromus hayi is a rare species of crustacean known by the common name Hay's spring amphipod. It is endemic to the District of Columbia in the United States, where it occurs only in Rock Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River. It is a federally listed endangered species, is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and as Critically Imperiled by NatureServe.
Stygobromus pecki, the Peck's cave amphipod, is a rare species of crustacean found in four cavern areas of southwestern Texas in the United States. It is a federally listed endangered species in the United States and is also listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Because of the species' limited geographical distribution, not much information on S. pecki is known. As of April 2022, there is no available 5-year review, Species Status Assessment, or recovery plan for the species. However, the Edwards' Aquifer Habitat Conservation Program (EAHCP), with the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (UFWS), has been attempting to further study and promote conservation of S. pecki.
Undu bay is a bay in Estonia. It in the northern Gulf of Riga and is highly isolated. It is characterized by having muddy deposits, dense bottom vegetation, and low salinity. In 2005, an exotic species of crustacean, Gammarus lacustris, was identified in the bay.
Dikerogammarus villosus, also known as the killer shrimp, is a species of amphipod crustacean native to the Ponto-Caspian region of eastern Europe, but which has become invasive across the western part of the continent. In the areas it has invaded, it lives in a wide range of habitats and will prey on many other animals. It is fast-growing, reaching sexual maturity in 4–8 weeks. As it has moved through Europe, it threatens other species and has already displaced both native amphipods and previous invaders.
Hyalella azteca is a widespread and abundant species complex of amphipod crustacean in North America. It reaches 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long, and is found in a range of fresh and brackish waters. It feeds on algae and diatoms and is a major food of waterfowl.
Gammarus lacustris is an aquatic amphipod.
