A New Species of the Fairy Shrimp Branchinella (Crustacea: Anostraca: Thamnocephalidae) from Western New South Wales, Australia.

Abstract

Branchinella angelica n.sp. is described from the Wilcannia area in western New South Wales. Its frontal appendage is distinctive and consist of a two branches, each with a central subbranch of a pad on a short peduncle and a large main branch with many lateral and medial digitiform processes of varying complexity. Other male characteristics are unremarkable and the female is like many others in Branchinella. So far it has been found only in artificial sites, so that its natural habitat is unknown.