Phylogeny and biogeography of three new species of Niphargus (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Greece

Three new freshwater Amphipods of the family Niphargidae G. Karaman, 1962 are described from subterranean waters of Greece, Niphargus aitolosi sp. nov., Niphargus karkabounasi sp. nov. and Niphargus koukourasi sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis based on 28S rDNA and H3 genes suggests that N. aitolosi sp. nov. belongs to N. longicaudatus species-complex. Species from that complex are distributed along both sides of Adriatic Sea and share roughly similar morphology, including the newly described species from Greece. Niphargus karkabounasi sp. nov., the second new species, belongs to a clade distributed broadly across Europe and the Middle East. Many species of this group, including N. karkabounasi, are small and likely live in small crevices. The third species, Niphargus koukourasi sp.nov. is phylogenetically related and morphologically similar to N. sanctinaumi and N. maximus from Lake Ohrid on the border of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania. In addition, this group of species may be related to species collected from Iran.