Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

We studied a Triops population from a Mediterranean temporary pond located in Guadalcázar, a township in the western part of Córdoba Province. There are four morphologically similar species of Triops occurring in the SW Iberian Peninsula. In particular, the two species found in southern Andalusia, T. baeticus and T. gadensis, cannot reliably be told apart based on known morphological characters. We thus used sequences of 12S rDNA as a molecular marker to soundly identify the population to species rank. Our results demonstrate that the Triops population studied belongs to T. gadensis. This result is rather unexpected given that the species was thought to be restricted to a small distribution range along the Atlantic coast in Cádiz Province. The population is located at approximately 170 km from previously known sites of T. gadensis and shows a previously unknown haplotype, the sixth 12S haplotype reported for the species. Based on a molecular clock designed for dating divergence events among conspecific samples of Triops, the haplotype is estimated to have diverged at 10.3–29.4 ka BP. We thus suggest that the population has high conservation value, and its habitat, including the surroundings, should be legally protected. We further propose that an open habitat type as pastureland should be retained for the surroundings of the site in order to support its ecological function in the frame of meta-populations dynamics, and as a possible source population from which new localities could be populated via passive dispersal.