Origin, age, and evolutionary rate of the microparasellid isopod Microcharon from the ground water of the south-Riffian region (Morocco)

Issues of taxonomy, origins and evolution of the widely distributed isopod genus Microcharon (Microparasellidae) are reviewed. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the origin and of the age of Microcharon in the northeastern region of Morocco within an historical biogeographic context. We also discuss the morphological evolutionary rate within the genus Microcharon compared to species of other Moroccan regions and to the amphipod genus Pseudoniphargus from the same region resulting from similar vicariance processes. Matters of deep history are taken up in connection with bio-geography for the taxon.