The first British record of Paralimnocythere psammophila (Flössner, 1965) (Ostracoda, Cytheroidea, Limnocytheridae)

Abstract. Ostracods were collected from a small temporary pool on the island of Barra, Outer Hebrides, (Scotland). Eight adult males and eight adult females of Paralimnocythere psammophila (Flössner, 1965) (Pl. 1; Fig. 1) were found; no juveniles or empty valves/carapaces were recovered. This species has records from Germany, France, Spain and the Ukraine (see refs in Meisch, 2000), but was previously unknown in the British fauna.

The sample was collected on 10 July, 2002 from a small (area <1 m²), freshwater pool on a grassy hillside overlooking Barra Airport, N57° 01′ 06.1″ W007° 26′ 25.8″, depth 5–10 cm with a muddy bottom, pH 5, temperature 20° C; water beetles, bivalves and the ostracod Eucypris virens (Jurine, 1820) were also present. Mud cracks in the bottom of the pool indicated that it had recently been dry, providing further confirmation that limnocytherid ostracods have drought resistant stages (Martens, 1996; Eagar, 2000).

This is the first published record of the species from the British Isles although it is suspected that Henderson’s (1990) record of Paralimnocythere relicta (Lilljeborg, 1863) from Hatchet Pond in Hampshire, may in fact be a misidentification of P. psammophila; however, this additional record requires confirmation. Martens (1992), in his review of the genus Paralimnocythere, illustrates slightly larger female specimens of P. psammophila compared with the material from the present study.