Cuyojanira undetermined

Cuyojanira sp.

(Fig. 10)

Material examined. 1 male (incomplete) and 8 females (without antennae), FML-CRUST 01290, Calingasta River, San Juan Province, Calingasta Department, Calingasta River (hyporheic): Well 1: 31°20′ 30.7′′S, 69° 25′ 38.1′′ W, 1373 m a.s.l. 6 Nov 2014. M. Peralta & A. Franck Colombres cols.

Comments. The family Protojaniridae Fresi, Idato & Scipione, 1980 (Asellota, Gnathostenetroidoidea) comprises 14 species and two subspecies (Pérez-Schultheiss & Wilson 2021) of tiny stygobiont isopods. It is a Gondwanan and primarily freshwater group. Its species are known from Chile, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Namibia, and South Africa. Its relict nature and ancient origin mean that every finding is a valuable element for phylogenetic and paleobiogeographic reconstruction. The discovery of the first Chilean Protojaniridae species in springs associated with riverine groundwater, Wiyufiloides osornoensis, Perez-Schulteiss & Wilson (2021), is recent. These authors suggest the possibility that two or three different phylogenetic lines exist within the Protojaniridae, although knowledge of this group in South America is still incipient.

The two species of Cuyojanira described so far, C. riojana Grosso (1992) and C. ischichuca Grosso & Quiroga (2007), inhabit intermittent streams in arid regions of western Argentina. The new report (Fig. 10) comes from the hyporheic zone of the Calingasta River, a permanent watercourse. The characters of these specimens agree with the diagnosis of Cuyojanira (Grosso 1992) but more studies are needed to determine whether it is a new species.