摘要：Extracted organisms from water–rinsedsediments, collected by core sampling in a dry–dam basin within the desert ofAbu Dhabi emirate (UAE), are the first documentary record of four Cladoceran species in this region. The organisms are Daphniacarinata King, D. similoides Hudec, D. cf. sinensis Gu, Xu, Li, DumontandHan and Alona dentifera. Identification is based on both morphologicalidentification and DNA sequencing approach. The genetic analyses suggest theexistence of hybrids between the Daphnia species, for which 90–91% ofexamined specimen sequences matched the databank genome, while about 85% of Alona species’ genetic sequences match thearchived genome. Although genetic examination of the organisms indicated thepresence of D. sinensis,it was not possible to identify it morphologically within the hatchedorganisms. These findings open a new trend in ecological and paleoecologicalresearch within the desert of the entire Arabian Peninsula. They may alsoresult in the introduction of a valuable research program that expands theexisting biodiversity database by documenting first time records of biota andnew species of the region.
