On the rediscovery of Chirocephalus ruffoi Cottarelli & Mura, 1984 from temporary pools of the Secchia and Panaro Valleys (Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Northern Italy

The data presented in this note extend the known distribution of the anostracan Chirocephalus ruffoi Cottarelli & Mura, 1984, an endemic Italian species. The additional localities reported here had been sampled occasionally from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, but at that time the species was misidentified as C. diaphanus Prévost, 1803. Re-examination of the sampled material, including resting-egg morphology, during this study has demonstrated that in fact the misidentified specimens belong to C. ruffoi, a species known to occur at other sites in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The usefulness of scanning electron microscopy for examining egg-shell morphology in order to aid, at least in certain cases, in a correct identification of species of Anostraca, is stressed.