Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Crustacea Family Gammaridae Scientific name Gammarus acherondytes Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Amphipoda Genus Gammarus Higher classification Gammarus | |
Similar Amphipoda, Gammarus, Crustacean, Gammaridae, Stygobromus | ||
Gammarus acherondytes is a species of crustacean in the family Gammaridae.
Distribution
The crustacean is endemic to the Illinois Sinkhole Plain of Monroe County and St. Clair County, in southwestern Illinois, including Illinois Caverns State Natural Area.
Historically Gammarus acherondytes was known from six caves, but in a survey in 1995 the species was found at only three of the sites, with one further site inaccessible. This species occurs only in underground streams. It was first collected in 1938 and described as a new species in 1940. It has only been found in six cave streams, all lie within a 10-mile radius circle around Waterloo, Illinois, making this a very localized species. However, there is no evidence that these cave streams are currently interconnected.
The main threat to the species is groundwater contamination.