A guide to the identification of subfossil chydorid Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from lake sediments of Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: part II

Abstract

© 2019, Springer Nature B.V. Use of subfossil cladoceran remains for paleolimnological studies in Mesoamerica, especially in Central America, is constrained by the poorly known composition of cladoceran communities. We examined sediments from 56 waterbodies in Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras) and the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), and provide illustrations and descriptions of the remains of Chydoridae from the region, emphasizing their diagnostic traits. In total, 36 Chydoridae taxa, representing 24 genera, were recognized. The illustrations and descriptions of chydorid subfossils included here will enable paleolimnologists to recognize and identify such remains in lake sediment cores, thereby facilitating paleoenvironmental inferences from lake sites in Mesoamerica. Furthermore, data included here expand knowledge about the geographic distributions of Neotropical chydorids.