Paraleptamphopus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of amphipods

Amphipoda

Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. The name amphipoda means "different-footed", and refers to the different forms of appendages, unlike isopods, where all the legs are alike. Of the 7,000 species, 5,500 are classified...

 in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Paraleptamphopidae

Paraleptamphopidae

Paraleptamphopidae is a family of amphipod crustaceans, containing three genera. Paraleptamphopus and Ringanui are both endemic to New Zealand, but Rudolphia lives in Chile.-References:...

 endemic to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The first species to be described was Calliope subterraneus (now Paraleptamphopus subterraneus) which was named

Alpha taxonomy

Alpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...

 by Charles Chilton

Charles Chilton (zoologist)

Charles Chilton was a New Zealand zoologist, the first rector to be appointed in Australasia, and the first person to be awarded a D.Sc. degree in New Zealand.-Biography:...

 in 1882. George M. Thomson

George M. Thomson

George Malcolm Thomson was a New Zealand scientist, educationalist, social worker and politician.-Biography:...

 described a second species in 1885, as Pherusa coerulea (now Paraleptamphopus caeruleus). Although no other species have yet been formally described, it is thought that many more undescribed species exist.

Paraleptamphopus subterraneus

In 1882, Charles Chilton

Charles Chilton (zoologist)

Charles Chilton was a New Zealand zoologist, the first rector to be appointed in Australasia, and the first person to be awarded a D.Sc. degree in New Zealand.-Biography:...

 collected specimens of P. subterraneus from groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

 at his farm near Eyreton

Eyreton

Eyreton, originally known as Eyretown, is a small village in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Edward John Eyre, who at one time was the lieutenant governor of the South Island...

, Canterbury, and later obtained specimens from various depths in Lincoln

Lincoln, New Zealand

Lincoln is a town in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, New Zealand. The town has a population of 2,727.-Location:It is located on the Canterbury Plains to the west of Banks Peninsula, 22 kilometres south of Christchurch.-History:...

, Winchester

Winchester, New Zealand

Winchester is a small town in the South-Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island.State Highway 1 and the Main South Line railway pass through Winchester.-References:...

 and St. Albans. These animals were colourless and lacked eyes, and were described as a new species in the genus Calliope. Chilton later acquired specimens from the Porter River

Porter River

The Porter River is a river of the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. It rises close to the southern end of the Craigieburn Range east of Lake Coleridge, flowing generally northeast to reach the Broken River close to Castle Hill...

 at Castle Hill

Castle Hill, New Zealand

Castle Hill is a location and a high country station in New Zealand's South Island. It is located at an altitude of 700 metres, close to State Highway 73 between Darfield and Arthur's Pass. It is private property....

, Canterbury, from Lake Wakatipu

Lake Wakatipu

Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of Otago Region, near its boundary with Southland.With a length of , it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at , its third largest...

, Otago

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

, from Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in geopolitical Oceania after Lake Murray ....

 on the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 and from Otautau

Otautau

Otautau is a small farming, forestry and milling town located inland on the western edge of the Southland Plains of New Zealand on the banks of the Aparima River. Otautau is located approximately 40 km north west of Invercargill...

, Southland

Southland Region

Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...

.

Paraleptamphopus caeruleus

George M. Thomson

George M. Thomson

George Malcolm Thomson was a New Zealand scientist, educationalist, social worker and politician.-Biography:...

 described a new species in the genus Pherusa in 1885, from specimens collected in a mountain stream in the Old Man Range of central Otago

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

 at an altitude of 3000 ft (914.4 m). Further populations were not found for several years, but were later discovered at a variety of locations, including "the bog-water on top of Swampy Hill, near Dunedin", Otautau (together with P. subterraneus), Ruapuke Island

Ruapuke Island

Ruapuke Island is one of the southernmost islands in New Zealand's main chain of islands. It lies to the southeast of Bluff and northeast of Oban on Stewart Island/Rakiura. The island covers an area of about . It guards the eastern end of Foveaux Strait...

, Drummond

Drummond, New Zealand

Drummond is a small town in Southland, New Zealand. It is 35 kilometres north of Invercargill and 18 kilometres west of Winton.The town has one golf course, a primary school called Central Southland Rural Primary School and a population of about 250....

, and near Invercargill

Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...

. Unlike P. subterraneus, P. caeruleus is a deep blue colour, which it retains even after prolonged preservation. Chilton concluded that P. caeruleus was the form from which P. subterraneus evolved.

Undescribed species

More recent work has unearthed a great deal of genetic variability within the specimens ascribed to the genus, which is likely to result in the description of a number of new species. The centre of diversity

Center of diversity

A center of diversity is an area that has a high degree of genetic variation for a particular species or genus of plants that can also be the center of origin for that species. The two areas often, but not always, coincide; the degree of coincidence remains the subject of debate...

 is in the upper West Coast of the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

, and the genus appears to be absent from the eastern portion of the North Island, (the Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

, East Cape

East Cape

East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island....

, and northern Hawke's Bay), presumably due to a recent history of volcanism

Volcanism

Volcanism is the phenomenon connected with volcanoes and volcanic activity. It includes all phenomena resulting from and causing magma within the crust or mantle of a planet to rise through the crust and form volcanic rocks on the surface....

.