Filogenetski položaj rodu Chaetoniphargus Karaman et Sket (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Niphargidae) iz dinarskega krasa

An alternative, phylogenetically grounded taxonomy of the recently described Chaetoniphargus lubuskensis Karaman & Sket (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Niphargidae) is presented. The recently described new genus and species, Chaetoniphargus lubuskensis from Dinaric Karst, has formerly only been taxonomically evaluated by a classical approach, based on morphology. Species of genera Niphargobatoides, Niphargobates, Chaetoniphargus, differ from Niphargus spp. mainly by slightly elevated number of maxilla I spines, by gradual reduction of maxillary and mandibular palps, by a strong reduction of urosomal structures. Molecularly, they appear to be nested within the Niphargus tree, but separately. Their collective separation from Niphargus would make the genus Niphargus paraphyletic, but for the low number of these species practically without diminishing the confusing diversity of it. A molecular phylogenetic analysis would include all here studied niphargid species as belonging to Niphargus. The gradual change in morphology of mentioned niphargids produces a smooth transition between Niphargidae and unrelated Metacrangonyctidae. Since other facts speak against the relatedness of both families, this is an additional case of convergence, demonstrating the need of molecular analyses when we speculate on phylogenetic relations within Amphipoda.