Les Stenasellidae (Crustacea Isopoda Asellota Anophtalmes) des eaux souterraines du sultanat d’Oman

Descriptions of four new species of Stenasellus (Aselloidea: Stenasellidae) from the underflow of temporary streams (wadis) in northern part of Oman Sultanate. S. vermeuleni n.sp. (11.2 mm or more) and S. messanai n.sp. (7.7 mm or more) are probably karstic water species, accidentally or locally present in the alluvium. The smaller S. henryi n.sp. (3.5 mm), the most widely spread, seems to be typically an inhabitant of coarse sand and gravel alluvial deposits, and bears hypertrophied gnathopods. S. grafi n.sp. (2 mm), the smallest known Stenasellid, is highly adapted to mesopsammal life; its dwarfism reduces drastically the number of oocytes, but little their size. The species of the arabian Peninsula are strongly related to these of eastern Africa (Somalia, Kenya), pointing at the existence of a common paleogeographical origin. They are also fairly related to those of the Far East (Thailand, Cambodia, Sumatra, Borneo).