First record of Linderiella jebalae Boix, Sala, Escoriza & Alonso 2016 (Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Anostraca) in the Iberian Peninsula. Dispersal across the Strait of Gibraltar?

Abstract

We report the first record of Linderiella jebalae in the Iberian Peninsula from two temporary ponds in La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz, southern Spain). This species was described in 2016 in the Moroccan Atlas Mountain range on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar, 102 km away from this new Iberian location. Sequencing a fragment of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) showed a higher genetic diversity in Morocco, but only one haplotype in the Iberian populations, suggesting recent dispersal from Morocco to Spain, possibly mediated by birds through their annual migrations. This finding increases the diversity of anostraceans in the Iberian Peninsula to 16 species.