The two Amphipoda described in this paper are both rare in
the anchialine caves of the Walsingham area in Bermuda (see Sket & Iliffe,
1980). The presence of an ingolfiellid in Bermudian cave waters is
interesting enough to justify the description of the species involved, even
though it is based on a ingle female only. The ingolfiellids are an old
group with a curious distribution pattern (Stock, 1977): (1) some species are
bathyal or abyssal; (2) many species occur in inland groundwaters or cold
continental masses (Europe, Africa, South America); (3) many species occur in
coastal groundwaters and interstitial waters. The absence of males makes a
cladistic comparison of the Bermudian taxon impossible. However, the
female morphology seems to point to close relationship with the above category
3, the coastal/interstitial group.
Thomas M. Iliffe, Department of Marine
Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, P.O. Box 1675, Galveston, Texas 77553, USA.
E-mail:
iliffet@tamug.edu
Keywords: Amphipoda; anchialine; caves; crustaceans; ingolfiellid; Bermuda; Walsingham; interstitial.