Lake Biwa Museum, Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture 525-0001, Japan,
Earth Sciences Laboratory, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture 252-0880, Japan.
Zoolog Sci. 2021 Oct;38(5):481-493. doi: 10.2108/zs210027.
An undescribed species of freshwater ostracod belonging to the genus Savatenalinton and Martens, 2009 was collected from two pet shops in the Kanto region of central Japan. This species, herein named sp. nov., is similar to four species previously reported from Southeast Asia, but can be distinguished by carapace and appendage features. It is the second species of the genus for which males are known. Of the nine previously described species in the genus, one is exclusively known from Turkey, and the others are found in Southeast Asia and the vicinity, one of which is also recorded in India and east China. There are two scenarios to explain the existence of sp. nov. in pet shops in Japan: it is either native to Japan but has yet to be discovered in its natural habitat, or it is an alien species, perhaps unwittingly imported with plants or fish for the pet trade. We review the likelihood of both scenarios, and conclude that although there is insufficient evidence to be sure, it is potentially an alien species in Japan. The most likely origin is Southeast Asia, as evidenced by its close morphological resemblance to particular Southeast Asian species. Juveniles as well as adults were recovered, indicating that this species is reproducing in the pet trade, supporting the notion that it has invasive potential to areas outside of its natural range. The description and report of this species highlights a possible introduction of an alien species to Japan, and facilitates further monitoring.
一种未被描述的淡水介形虫，属于 Savatenalinton 和 Martens，2009 年从日本中部关东地区的两家宠物店采集。该物种，本文命名为 sp. nov.，与之前从东南亚报道的四个物种相似，但可通过甲壳和附肢特征来区分。这是已知的第二个具有雄性的属种。在该属的九个已描述的物种中，一个仅在土耳其发现，其他则分布在东南亚及其周边地区，其中一个也在印度和中国东部记录。有两种情况可以解释 sp. nov. 在日本宠物店的存在：它要么是日本的本地物种，但尚未在其自然栖息地中发现，要么是一种外来物种，也许是在与植物或鱼类一起进行宠物贸易时无意中引入的。我们回顾了这两种情况的可能性，并得出结论，尽管没有足够的证据可以确定，但它在日本可能是一种外来物种。最有可能的起源是东南亚，因为它与特定的东南亚物种在形态上非常相似。我们采集到了幼体和成虫，这表明该物种在宠物贸易中繁殖，支持了它在其自然分布范围之外的地区具有入侵潜力的观点。该物种的描述和报告突出了一种可能的外来物种引入日本的情况，并有助于进一步监测。
