Expanding the taxonomic conundrum: three new species of groundwater crustaceans (Syncarida, Bathynellacea, Parabathynellidae) endemic to the Iberian Peninsula

20 pages, 7 figures.Two new species of the genus Iberobathynella and one new species of the cosmopolitan genus Hexabathynella are described from the Iberian Peninsula. The three new species were found in the groundwater of caves and the gravelly bank of a river, two species in the north of Spain (Cantabria and Burgos) and one in the south (Sevilla). The two new species of the genus Iberobathynella present a unique combination of characters. These character combinations for the species from Cantabria are: thoracopod 8 female with wrinkled cuticle and two teeth; seven spines on the furca; nine spines on the sympod, three barbed and one plumose seta on the exopod and two barbed setae on the endopod of the uropod; maxilla with 0, 0 and 15 setae on the three segments, respectively; five teeth on the pars incisiva and six teeth on the pars molaris of the mandible and seven segments on the antennule. The combinations of characters for the species from Burgos are: antennule with seven segments; segment 5 of the antennule with one aesthetasc; mandible with four and five teeth on the pars incisiva and pars molaris respectively; maxillule with one seta on segment 1 and 14 setae on segment 3; segment 1 of the endopod of the thoracopod 1 with two setae; uropod with six spines on the sympod, four barbed setae and one plumose seta on the exopod and no setae on the endopod; furca with five spines and the thoracopod 8 female with wrinkled cuticle and two teeth. This last species has an exclusive character for the genus: the absence of setae on the endopod of the uropod. The new species of the genus Hexabathynella has six spines of similar length on the sympod of the uropod (in all other species within the genus the distal spine is longer than the others); the form of the antennal organ in the males is shown to be a new unique character for the genus; the maxilla has three and 13 setae on segments 2 and 3, respectively; the uropod has six spines on the sympod, three barbed setae on the exopod and two smooth setae on the endopod, the endopod is twice as long as the exopod and the shape of the female thoracopod 8 is unique.This work was supported by projects REN2000- 2040 GLO, EVK2-CT-2001-00121 (European Projects PASCALIS) and Convenio Junta de Castilla y León and CSIC.Peer reviewe