FIRST RECORD OF SPELAEOGRIPHACEA FROM AUSTRALASIA - A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES FROM AN AQUIFER IN THE ARID PILBARA OF WESTERN-AUSTRALIA

Spelaeogriphacea are reported for the first time from Australia. A new genus and species, Mangkurtu mityula, are described and the only othe r two genera diagnosed. The species, the third extant in the order, se ems more similar to the Brazilian Potiicoara brasiliensis than to the South African Spelaeogriphus lepidops,ut all have unique apomorphies. The species is found in the aquifer in the Tertiary Millstream Dolomit e of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is part of a fauna wi th clear Gondwanan affinities. This fauna is distinct from those found in aquifers in the lower and upper parts of the same drainage basin.