Table Of ContentBULLETIN DE L'INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE BIOLOGIE, 72-SUPr'L.: 89-91, 2002
BULLETIN VAN HET KONINKLIJK BELGISCH INSTITUUT VOOR NATUURWETENSCI-IAPPEN BIOLOGIE, 72-SUPPL.: 89-91, 2002
Actual presence of large branchiopods in Belgiutn:
appeal to the field naturalists
M. LONEUX
Extended abstract
r--
:c ~
Large branchiopods (Anostraca, Notostraca and Con lA :1
17
chostraca) are small crustaceans living in temporary r-- b!.V r-- 1
l'n
pools and ponds, forest ruts, flooded holes and ditches. .:,.
Their presence is irregular and seasonal, depending on the 1/ 1-1• J
rainfall and the temperature. They grow quickly (2 to I 0 1
\ II.,
weeks), their adult life is extremely short ( 15 to 20. days). v-
II-'
Their microscopic eggs resist for many years to dessica l.r' ll
K
tion and give larves just after been flooded. The tallest
)
species have a body length of 30 to 35 mm.
Reviews of the Belgian fauna for this group, based on 1/ ,<-..
~
the collections of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural
.. 1
Sciences in Brussels (BRENDONCK 1990) and of the
Zoological Museum of the University in Liege (LONEUX v b J
& THIERY 1998) have shown the complementarity of Branch1pus schaeffer1 FISCHER, 1834 • Collecllons M.Z.ULG
these two sources of infonnation:
Fig. I - Known presence of the shrimp Branchipus schaefferi
- five species catalogued from the collections in Brussels
in Belgium, after LONEUX & TI-llERY 1998.
(Lepidurus apus, Triops cancriformis, Siphonophanes
grubei, Chirocephalus diaphanus, Limnadia lenticu
lcu-is );
- a new one in the thirties (Branchipus schaefferi) (fig. I)
and new locations for T. cancriformis (fig. 2) and C.
diaphanus (fig. 3) catalogued from the collections in
Liege.
But the known locations are very scarce and old, dating I"\ 1'1 ll --1
1-- '- k'--b 'L' --1
from the first half of the 201h century. !A V1"lA "' ,,..- ~
In 1989, a new species is announced as living in 1-r- r-
Belgium (BRENDONCK et a!. 1989). Certainly introduced \
t•-.: ill !""" IJ- .:,.
in 1984 with a stock of Carps (Cyprinus carpio) coming ..1 1/ -1• I
from Hungary, Leptestheria dahalacensis (Conchostraca) I-'
1'
has adapted to living in fishing pounds. It maintained a
viable population certified from 1984 to 1988, but seems v~ • ..,_,
lr 1-v"
nowadays to have disappeared (BRENDONCK, pers. com.). :) 1.
,?-
Exception made for this case, no branchiopods were
/,; )
collected since 1959. _\, r'
In May 1997, when walking on a forest path, we got the ~K I'( -b- t:= --1
surprise to find several shrimps Chirocephalus diapha dJ
t"\
nus, scattered in some flooded ruts (Hamois, prov. Na lL
1-1- v
mur, fig. 3). Some individuals were collected, identified
Tr1ops cantrlformiS 1805(.1801) * I.R.S.N.B.-K.B.I.N. (BRENDONCK 1969) . M.Z.ULG
following the criterions of NouRRISSON & THIERY ( 1988),
photographied and added to the collections (LONEUX & Fig. 2 - Known presence of the shrimp Triops ca.ncriformis
W ALRAV ENS 1998, photos I & 2). in Belgium, after LONEUx & THIERY 1998.
90 M. LONEUX II
Om discovery lead us to launch an appeal for collabora
1'-.. h LL
1-"" J, p;f.!......, H tion to the field naturalists. Even if it is true that the
L.--11",.( l,k:-- favorite habitats of branchiopods are more and more
v< 'ffvl
I destroyed (pools and ditches filled in, ground ways con
7' *. \ II '"'\ 1- creted, bmied streams, etc.), the great branchiopods have
H D
I"'
1/ -1• I not necessarily disappeared. They certainly suffer from a
1 /( 1-' lack of interest towards them. Thus we suggest to every
!/ \ II., n body to explore little deep pools and streams when walk
v-
lf"1 It'-
lr' b, 1--' . ll -o..,_2lp- ing from April t0 November, particularly after flood in
~ ~--~ IX Spring, so as to find presence of these small animals
!-'"
fJ IT anywhere in Belgium. As yet diffused (LONEUX & W AL
j It"
I"- RA YENS 1998), the Zoological Museum of Liege will cen
tralize and cartography the observations and information.
I'-'
\ ..).
]'-,b i-J
-*
Ch1rocephalus d1aphanus PREVOST, 1803 IRScNB·KBHl tBrcndonck 1989) e H.Z.ULG
X
MAY 1997
Grands branchiopodes (ex-"phyllopodes") en Belgique:
Fig. 3 - Known presence of the shrimp Chirocepha/us dia appel aux naturalistes
phanus in Belgium, after LONEUX & THIERY 1998.
Les grands branchiopodes sont de petits crustaces d'eau
douce qui vivent dans des points d'eau temporaires et peu
-"'""''lf!"""",,._....,, • •
. • - -~ r' ~
profonds: mares, ornieres forestieres, fosses, zones inon
• ' I 'l
dees. Leur apparition irreguliere et saisonniere depend du
regime des pluies et de Ia temperatme. Leur croissance
est rapide (2 a I 0 semaines), leur vie adulte ephemere ( 15
a 20 jours). Leurs oeufs microscopiques resistent plu
sieurs mmees a Ia dessiccation et donnent naissance aux
larves des leur mise en eau.
Une revision de Ia faune beige pour ce groupe, basee
sur les collections de I 'Institut royal des Sciences natur
e lies de Belgique a Bruxelles et du Musee de Zoologie de
I'Universite de Liege, a mis en evidence Ia complemen
tarite de ces deux somces d'informations pour repertorier
6 especes en Belgique: Lepidurus apus, Triops cancrifor
mis, Siphonophanes grubei, Chirocephalus diaphanus,
Photo 1 - Female shrimp Chirocephalus diaphanus with Limnadia lenticularis, Branchipus schaefferi. Mais les
eggs. Photo E. & M. WALRA VENS-LONEUX. localisations ~ont peu nombreuses et datent de Ia premiere
moitie du 20'eme siecle. De 1959 a 1997, aucun branchio
pode n 'a plus ete recolte officiellement en Belgique,
excepte une nouvelle espece introduite avec des poissons
et presente de 1984 a 1988 en etang de pisciculture.
En mai 1997, un·e population de Chirocephalus dia
phanus est decouverte dispersee dans quelques ornieres
de tracteurs inondees dans un chemin de terre forestier
(Hamois, prov. Namur). Cette decouverte nous incite
done a lancer un avis de recherche. En effet, s'il est
indeniable que leurs habitats disparaissent (mares et
fosses combles, chemins de terre bet01mes, ruisseaux
enterres), les grands branchiopodes n'ont pas_necessaire
ment disparu, mais souffrent certainement d'un manque
de prospection. Nous exhortons les naturalistes a explorer
les flaques et trous d' eau peu pro fonds au cours de leurs
promenades sur le terrain d'avril a novembre, et particu
lierement apres les inondations de printemps, afin de
deceler Ia presence de ces petits animaux.
Comme deja diffuse (LONEUX & WALRA YENS 1998), le
Photo 2 - Male shrimp Chirocepha/us diaphanus. Photo E. Musee de Zoologie de Liege centralisera et cartogra
& M. WALRAVENS-LONEUX. phiera les informations qui lui seront communiquees.
I I
Actual presence of large branchiopods in Belgium: appeal to the field naturalists 91
References LONEUX, M. & WALRA YENS, E., 1998. Observation recente de
Chirocephalus diaphanus (PREVOST in JuRJ , 1820) en Belgique:
appel aux naturalistes. Les Natura/isles belges, 79 (1): 9-14.
BRE DONCK, L., 1990. A review of the phyllopods (Cmstacea:
a
Anostraca, Notostraca, Conchostraca) of the Belgian fauna. in: NOURRISSON, M. & THIERY, A., 1988. Introduction pratique Ia
WOUTERS, K. & 8AERT, L. (eds), Proceedings of the Sympo systematique des organismes des eaux continentales fran9aises.
sium "Invertebrates of Belgium": 129-135. 9 - Crustaces Branchiopodes (Anostraces, Notostraces, Con
chostraces). Bull. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 57: 75-135.
BRENDONCK, L., GODDEERIS, B. & MARTENS, K., 1989. Lepthes
teria dahalacensis (ROPPEL, 1837), a Conchostracan new for
the Belgian Fauna. Bull. ins/. R. Sci. Nat. Be/g., 59: 59-62.
Michele LONEUX
LONEUX, M. & THIERY, A., 1998. Revision des grands Bran Musee de Zoologie de l'Universite de Liege
chiopodes conserves au Musee de Zoologie de l'Universite de lnstitut de Zoologie
Liege: interet des collections museologiques. Les Natura/isles Quai Ed. Van Beneden 22
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