Description of a new Tardigrade, Macrobiotus barbarae (Eutardigrada : Macrobiotidae) from the Dominican Republic

A moss sample collected in the Dominican Republic contained tardigrades and their eggs, including adults and eggs of a new species, Macrobiotus barbarae sp. nov. The new species belongs to the harmsworthi group and it is most similar to M. ovostriatus Pilato et Patanè, 1998 and M. pseudonuragicus Pilato et al., 2004 in the character of egg areolation. It differs from M. ovostriatus above all by larger body size and wider buccal tube, better developed oral cavity armature (the first band of teeth is present and the second band of teeth forms a ring of triangular teeth) and indentation of hind lunulae. M. barbarae sp. nov. differs also from M. pseudonuragicus in details of the egg projections (in M. pseudonuragicus the terminal portion of processes is short, not elongated and divided into several short points whereas in the new species the terminal parts are elongated and generally not divided). Differences between the new species and other similar members of the harmsworthi group are also discussed

Small is beautiful : the first phylogenetic analysis of Bryodelphax Thulin, 1928 (Heterotardigrada, Echiniscidae)

The phyletic relationships both between and within many of tardigrade genera have been barely studied and they remain obscure. Amongst them is the cosmopolitan Bryodelphax, one of the smallest in terms of body size echiniscid genera. The analysis of newly-found populations and species from the Mediterranean region and from South-East Asia gave us an opportunity to present the first phylogeny of this genus, which showed that phenotypic traits used in classical Bryodelphax taxonomy do not correlate with their phyletic relationships. In contrast, geographic distribution of the analysed species suggests their limited dispersal abilities and seems to be a reliable predictor of phylogenetic affinities within the genus. Moreover, we describe three new species of the genus. Bryodelphax australasiaticus sp. nov., by having the ventral plate configuration VII:4-4-2-4-2-2-1, is a new member of the weglarskae group with a wide geographic range extending from the Malay Peninsula through the Malay Archipelago to Australia. Bryodelphax decoratus sp. nov. from Central Sulawesi (Celebes) also belongs to the weglarskae group (poorly visible ventral plates VII:4-2-2-4-2-2-1) and is closely related to the recently described Bryodelphax arenosus Gąsiorek, 2018, but is differentiated from the latter by well-developed epicuticular granules on the dorsum. Finally, a new dioecious species, Bryodelphax nigripunctatus sp. nov., is described from Mallorca and, by the reduced ventral armature (II/III:2-2-(1)), it resembles Bryodelphax maculatus Gąsiorek et al., 2017. The latter species, known so far only from northern Africa, is recorded from Europe for the first time. A taxonomic key to the genus members is also presented

Limno-Terrestrial Tardigrada of Sub-Antarctic Islands—An Annotated Review

Research on the limno-terrestrial Tardigrada fauna of the Sub-Antarctic zone began almost 120 years ago. Here we present an overview of the literature data on the presence of tardigrades on sub-Antarctic islands, including the substrates on which they have been found. From 32 published sources, we found original data on the occurrence of 49 currently valid species on six sub-Antarctic islands/island groups. Of these, 9 species (18%) were originally described from this zone, another 13 species (26%) were described from Continental or Maritime Antarctica, almost half of these species (22 species—45%) were originally described from European localities, and the remaining 5 species (10%) were originally described from South America, Africa, or Australia. The validity of the records of individual species is discussed. We consider the presence of 29 species in the Sub-Antarctic to be doubtful. We ascertained a total of 90 combinations of species and islands or island groups. More than half (64%) of these will require confirmation in the future because we currently consider them doubtful. We can conclude that the tardigrade fauna of the sub-Antarctic islands is only very superficially known, and the occurrence of most species in this zone must be verified

A new species of Tardigrada Bryodelphax brevidentatus sp. nov. (Heterotardigrada : Echiniscidae) from China (Asia)

A new heterotardigrade, Bryodelphax brevidentatus sp. nov. is described from moss sample collected in China. The new species is most similar to Bryodelphax tatrensis (Węglarska) but differs from it mainly by the different appearance of the dentate collar (different in shape and length of teeth), shorter cirri A and shorter claws

FIGURES 1–8 in New taxonomic position of several Macrobiotus species (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae)

FIGURES 1–8. Macrobiotus subintermedius (syntype) (Figs. 1–4): 1—bucco-pharyngeal apparatus in lateral view (Phase Contrast = PhC); 2—pores on the caudal cuticle (arrows) (Differential Interference Contrast); 3—pores on the anterior cuticle (arrows) (PhC); 4—egg (PhC). Macrobiotus pustulatus (holotype) (Figs. 5–8; PhC): 5—bucco-pharyngeal apparatus in ventral view; 6—claws of the first pair of legs; 7—pores on the dorsal posterior cuticle; 8—pores on the ventral posterior cuticle. Scale bars: 1, 5, 6 = 5 µm; 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 = 10 µm.Published as part of <i>Guidetti, Roberto, Bertolani, Roberto & Degma, Peter, 2007, New taxonomic position of several Macrobiotus species (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae), pp. 61-68 in Zootaxa 1471 (1)</i> on page 64, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1471.1.6, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10088041">http://zenodo.org/record/10088041</a&gt

Three Echiniscidae species (Tardigrada: Heterotardigrada) new to the Polish fauna, with the description of a new gonochoristic Bryodelphax Thulin, 1928

During a faunistic survey in the Pieniny and Tatra Mountains three species of Echiniscidae new to Poland, including one new to science, were found. Bryodelphax instabilis sp. nov. is characterised by an instable number of ventral plates, deep faceting of the scapular plate, having dorsal plates covered either with pseudopores or pores, and striking sexual dimorphism. Two first records, namely Echiniscus militaris and E. spiniger, are rare taxa of upland-mountain character, which have already been reported from a few European countries since the original description at the beginning of the XX^{th} century. The interspecific appendage length variability and development of pedal plates in the spinulosus group, to which E. spiniger belongs, and their taxonomic importance is discussed. Notes relating to sexual dimorphism within the newly recorded Pseudechiniscus facettalis, are also presented. Echiniscus testudo is reported from the Polish part of the Tatra Mountains for the first time. Succeeding findings confirm the high tardigrade \alpha-diversity in the Polish mountain ranges. An amended key for Polish Heterotardigrada is provided

Notes to the current checklist of Tardigrada

Corrections and additions to the recently published checklist of Tardigrada taxa (Guidetti & Bertolani 2005) are defined and described until the acceptance of this article. Two new synonyms are stated here: Hypsibius iharosi Bartoš, 1941 syn. nov. and Isohypsibius gibbus (Marcus, 1928) syn. nov