A new species of Procambarus (Decapoda, Cambaridae) from the State of Queretaro, Mexico

With a Nearctic distribution, the family Cambaridae harbors a high species richness in Mexico, which is also evident along the Panuco River catchment. A series of surveys carried on in five populations from the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve in the State of Queretaro resulted in localizing a putative new species for science. A molecular phylogenetic study and species delimitation analyses including all the known Procambarus species from the Panuco River catchment were conducted based on three mitochondrial genes (16S rDNA, 12S rDNA, and COI; 2,462 bp in total). Phylogeny recovered all species as monophyletic, including the populations under study. All delimitation results based on barcoding, ABGD, GMYC, bPTP, and gonopod differentiation agree in the recognition of a new taxon, to which the name Procambarus xihui sp. nov. is given, and its diagnosis and description are provided. The new species can be distinguished from the remaining species in the genus, among other characters, by a unique configuration of the terminal elements of the first pleopod of form I male, which includes a central projection lamellate, hood-like, forming a concave blade-like structure mesially directed, as well as a caudal process crest-like, mesiodistally directed, forming a lateral side of the concavity.

Automated summary

The study identified a putative new species Procambarus xihui in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve of Queretaro, Mexico. Through molecular phylogenetic analysis and species delimitation, the research confirmed the unique characteristics of this newly discovered species.