This study examines amphipod phylogeny based on small subunit (18S) rDNA sequence data. Complete sequences of 25 species representing six families were used to test the phylogenetic information content of this gene for reconstruction of amphipod phylogeny. The alignment proved to be informative for most of the studied taxa. The monophyly of the families Gammaridae, Crangonyctidae, Niphargidae a...

In developed countries, changes in agriculture practices have greatly accelerated the degradation of the landscape and the functioning of adjacent aquatic ecosystems. Such alteration can in turn impair the services provided by aquatic ecosystems, namely the decomposition of organic matter, a key process in most small streams. To study this alteration, we recorded three measures of heterotrophic...

Ten new species of the genus Gammarus are described from Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Southwest China, including Gammarus amabilis sp. nov., G. citatus sp. nov., G. echinatus sp. nov., G. egregius sp. nov., G. eliquatus sp. nov., G. hirtellussp. nov., G. margcomosus sp. nov., G. rivalis sp. nov., G. silendus sp. nov. and G. tranquillus sp. nov. Four of them are stygobite and with no eyes. Detailed i...

In the northern Gulf of Mexico, Gammarus mucronatus sensu lato is represented by at least two forms, G. mucronatus sensu stricto and a less common “macromucronate” form, which appears to be restricted to low salinity habitats. These two forms have traditionally been separated using the size or angle of projection of the dorsal mucronations (processes). However, because of variability in the dev...

To assess the taxonomic relationship between G. nipponensis and G. sobaegensis, morphological features and molecular phylogenetic relationships using the nuclear 28S rRNA and the mitochondrial COI genes were examined. Detailed morphological observations revealed that G. nipponensis and G. sobaegensis were clearly distinguishable. In addition to the morphological differences, these two species w...

Two pieces of Baltic amber with amphipod inclusions were studied. One of them contained approximately twenty individuals identified as belonging to the extinct genus Palaeogammarus and described as P. debroyeri sp. nov. Interestingly, among the individuals there are two pairs preserved in an evident prae-copula position. This is the first finding of such mating behaviour in fossil amphipods. Ba...