#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Scientists have discovered two new species of benthic copepods of the Harpacticoida order in of Arctic Central Siberia water bodies. They are distinguished by the limbs structure, the integumentary sensilla (the simplest skin sensory organs) and pores location, as well as the swimming legs ornamentation.
Scientists from the Ecology and Evolution Problems Institute after A.N. Severtsov and Kazan Federal University described the new species and published the work results in one of the international scientific publications.
“Bryocamptus putoranus Novikov, Sharafutdinova & Chertoprud, 2023 is now known for the mountain lakes of the Putorana plateau, and Bryocamptus abramovae Novikov, Sharafutdinova & Chertoprud, 2023 is now known for the thermokarst lakes of the southern part of the Lena river delta. It is interesting that the species is also noted in the lakes of Wrangel island. That is, its range consists of two regions, thousands of kilometers apart from each other. At the same time, these regions are also isolated from each other by the sea area”, the report says.
Scientists drew attention to the high diversity and specificity of the copepods fauna in the Lena river delta and the Putorana plateau reservoirs. This diversity was unexpected for the Arctic regions.
Findings of species new to science, as well as the presence of elements from more southern regions, indicate the relict nature of the fauna. According to the researchers, on the Putorana plateau, ice domes lay only on the plateaus, and in the Lena delta, glaciation had the character of firn snowfields – so the ancient fauna was preserved, and today copepods live in the north of Central Siberia – a species that has survived from the time of mammoths.
“There is a hypothesis that the microcrustaceans of the Central Siberia’s north are fragments of the Beringia ancient land fauna, which is currently partially flooded by the World Ocean. The discovery of the same species of Bryocamptus abramovae in the Lena river delta and on Wrangel island confirms this assumption”, the department explained.
Earlier, a unique book about the Putorana insects was published in the Taimyr Reserves directorate, and plants unexpected for this place were found on the plateau. This mountain range, formed from the prehistoric supervolcano magma, was included by experts in the twenty natural wonders of Russia.
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Text: Anzhelika Stepanova, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko, the Russian Education and Science Ministry press service and wikipedia.org
