20.500.12556/RUL-183226 Revealing European cave shrimp diversity a new species of Spelaeocaris (Decapoda, Atyidae) named through public participation The family Atyidae, the world’s largest family of freshwater shrimps, is represented in Europe almost exclusively by subterranean species. The Dinaric Karst of the northwestern Balkans is among the most species-rich regions for atyids, hosting two genera, Troglocaris and Spelaeocaris. Recent speleobiological surveys in the southern Dinaric Karst of Bosnia and Herzegovina revealed a new cave shrimp species, described here as Spelaeocaris electa Jugovic & Zakšek, sp. nov. based on specimens collected during several field campaigns during 2013 and 2021. The epithet “electa” was chosen by a public vote, with the aim of involving local communities in the species naming process and raising awareness of subterranean biodiversity. Phylogenetic analyses, including species of the three European subterranean atyid genera (Spelaeocaris, Troglocaris and Xiphocaridinella) revealed its close relationship with S. hercegovinensis. Morphologically, S. electa Jugovic & Zakšek, sp. nov. is characterized by a weakly bilobed distal end of the telson, which is slightly concave in the centre, by a long rostrum, and the interchange of long and short spines on the appendix masculina. The discovery of S. electa Jugovic & Zakšek, sp. nov. highlights the exceptional subterranean biodiversity and high endemism of the Dinaric Karst, and emphasizes the need for continued taxonomic research and strengthened conservation efforts in this area. cave fauna conservation Dinaric Karst endemism public naming subterranean podzemna favna varstvo narave dinarski kras endemizem jamske kozice true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-06-08 16:21:33 2026-06-09 09:07:50 2026-06-10 04:10:57 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 51-76 Iss. 1267 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 551.44 1313-2970 10.3897/zookeys.1267.176622 265850883 Jugovic_et_al_2026_published.pdf Jugovic_et_al_2026_published.pdf 1 98953AD1152C452FAC9A0D3886903C3B 2df4c1363b5ab4aa6d9ed6eea1c7cd6c837c85ee1b01e5e74511060c145dfd2b ede20627-6345-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=235127 https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/176622/ 0 4ca93c48-63d2-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=235148 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0