Ostracods (Crustacea) from thermal waters, southern Altiplano, Argentina

LAPRIDA, C., DÍAZ, A. AND RATTO, N.

MICROPALEONTOLOGY

Micropaleontology Press

Lugar: New York; Año: 2006 vol. 52 p. 177 - 188

0026-2803

The ostracod fauna from la Terma hot spring (26° 55? 31? S - 68° 08? 45.7? W, 4026m above sea level), Southern Altiplano, Argentina, is described and the pool itself characterized. The occurrence of ostracods in this type of environments is registered for the first time in Argentina. Six species were found, two of which are new to the fauna of Argentina: Penthesilenula incae (Delachaux) and Hemicypris panningi (Brehm). Two species were found for the first time in the Altiplano: H. panningi (Brehm) and Cypridopsis fuhrmanni (Méhes). Some comments concerning how and when these species could spread to populate the Dry Altiplano are discussed briefly  taking into account paleoclimatic data.  Even when this fauna is taxonomically predictable in a hot spring, this is an interesting finding because it represents populations inhabiting an isolated high-altitude setting. The abundance of individuals in La Terma hot spring is surprising in comparison with other sampled sites in the area, in which total fauna is extremely scarce and darwinulids are rare. We think that La Terma represents a predictable environment in comparison with the surroundings as consequence of the thermal origin of its waters, and this allows the development of bigger populations.