(Universidad de Cuenca, 2017) Alonso, Miguel; Mosquera, Pablo; Hampel, Henrietta; Vázquez, Raúl F.
Extensive sampling of 202 lentic water bodies (lakes, lagoons and ponds) located between 3150 and
4460 m a.s.l. in the Cajas National Park (South Ecuadorian Andes) has revealed the high interest of
these mountain enclaves in tropical latitudes for the investigation of faunal and ecological aspects of
the branchiopod fauna. The first results allowed to recognize 21 species, 15 of them new to Ecuador, of
which 2 are in process of description to be published as new to science. All species are characteristic of
little mineralized and oligotrophic waters, 8 of them appear in the plankton and the rest in the limnetic
littoral benthos.
