A new, disjunct species of Speleonectes (Remipedia, Crustacea) from the Canary Islands

We describe Speleonectes atlantida n. sp. as the third species of Remipedia that was found outside the main distribution area of this group in the Caribbean region. S. atlantida was collected by cave divers equipped with closed circuit rebreathers from the far interior of the Tunel de la Atlantida, an anchialine volcanic lava tube, on the Canarian island of Lanzarote. The new species occurs in sympatry with S. ondinae, to which it is morphologically closely related. S. atlantida can be distinguished from S. ondinae by a more slender habitus and smaller pleurotergites in the posterior trunk. The valid status of S. atlantida as a new species of Remipedia could be corroborated by intra- and interspecific comparisons of 16S rDNA and CO1 sequence data.