On the taxonomy and zoogeography of the Genus Gomphocythere Sars, 1924 (Crustacea, Ostracoda), with the description of a new species from the Nahal Dan (Israel).

Gomphocythere ortali n.sp. is described from the Nahal Dan, one of the three main sources of the River Jordan. This area is well known as one of the southernmost Palaearctic enclaves in the Levant. The occurrence of an endemic species of an otherwise purely Ethiopian genus in such an area is therefore of interest. The present locality furthermore constitutes an important range extension for the genus, as the most northern locality of Gomphocythere thus far was Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Gomphocythere ortali n.sp. can easily be distinguished from all its congeners by the large, elongated valves in both sexes, by the relatively narrow female carapace in dorsal view and by the shape and anatomy of the hemipenis. New diagnoses for the tribe Cytheridellini and for the genus Gomphocythere are given; a number of morphological features and the validity of some species are reassessed. The origin and zoogeography of the genus and species are discussed.