Browsing by Author "Fontoura, Paulo"
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- Batillipes (Tardigrada, Arthrotardigrada) from the Portuguese coast with the description of two new species and a new dichotomous key for all speciesPublication . Santos, Erika; Rubal, Marcos; Veiga, Puri; Rocha, Clélia M. C. da; Fontoura, PauloFive species of Batillipes Richters, 1909 were collected from subtidal sediments of the Portuguese coast. Two of them, B. algharbensis sp. nov. and B. lusitanus sp. nov., are new to science. Batillipes algharbensis sp. nov. differs from all the other Batillipes species in having the middle toes 3 on the fourth feet longer than middle toes 4 and by the presence of rounded lateral body projections between legs III and IV. Batillipes lusitanus sp. nov. has the middle toes of the fourth feet equal in length, but it exhibits a dorsal cuticular ornamentation, constituted by large pillars, similar to the cuticle of B. adriaticus Grimaldi de Zio, Morone De Lucia, D’Addabbo Gallo & Grimaldi, 1979 and B. roscoffensis Kristensen, 1978. However, contrary to B. adriaticus, the caudal apparatus of B. lusitanus sp. nov. is a roundish cuticular expansion and B. roscoffensis lacks caudal apparatus. Batillipes adriaticus and B. phreaticus Renaud-Debyser, 1959 are new records for Portugal. Based on the examination of specimens of B. phreaticus collected at the Portuguese coast and their comparison with type material of this species and also of B. littoralis Renaud-Debyser, 1959, the toe arrangement patterns in species of Batillipes are clarified and a new identification key to species of this genus is provided.
- Batillipes pennaki Marcus, 1946 (Arthrotardigrada: Batillipedidae): deciphering a species complexPublication . Santos, Erika; Veiga, Puri; Rubal, Marcos; Bartels, Paul J.; Rocha, Clélia M. C.da; Fontoura, PauloBatillipes pennaki has been considered a common and a cosmopolitan marine tardigrade species. However, the original diagnosis of this species is very incomplete, and consequently there is a high probability of incorrect records. Therefore, a comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative morphological characters among eight different populations from the Atlantic basin was done in this study to investigate if B. pennaki is a complex of similar species, each with a restricted distribution range. The result of discriminant analyses showed clear morphometric differences between populations that were arranged into three main groups, distinguishing Western Atlantic populations, Eastern Atlantic populations and a Mediterranean population. Furthermore, the result of analyses of morphological structures revealed peculiarities of some traits with taxonomic relevance, such as leg IV sensory organs and primary clavae, consistent with the clusters revealed by quantitative data, allowing us to distinguish three different pseudocryptic species and supporting the hypothesis that B. pennaki is a species complex.
- Intertidal and shallow subtidal marine tardigrades from the British Virgin Islands with a description of a new Batillipes (Heterotardigrada: Batillipedidae)Publication . Bartels, Paul; Fontoura, Paulo; Nelson, DianeThis is the frst survey of marine tardigrades from the British Virgin Islands, though two species were previously reported from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In June 2016, we collected subtidal and intertidal sand samples from various locations throughout the British Virgin Islands. We found 602 tardigrades in 18 of 21 samples, and these included 12 taxa, one of which, Batillipes wyedeleinorum sp. nov., is new to science and described here. We compared abundance and species diversity in intertidal and subtidal samples and found signifcantly greater abundance in intertidal habitats but no signifcant diference in the number of observed species between the two habitats. We calculated Chao 1 species richness, which indicated higher estimated richness in intertidal habitats and 15 ± 3.7 species (x̅ ± SD) in both habitats combined. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling revealed diferences in species composition between the two habitats with some species showing clear preferences for one or the other.
- A new Batillipes (Tardigrada, Heterotardigrada, Batillipedidae) from North Portugal (Atlantic Ocean)Publication . Rubal, Marcos; Veiga, Puri; Fontoura, Paulo; Sousa-Pinto, IsabelThe knowledge of marine tardigrades in the Iberian Peninsula is very scarce in comparison with those from limnoterrestrial environments. As part of an effort to improve the knowledge of marine tardigrades in the Iberian Peninsula, a new species of marine tardigrade, Batillipes minius sp. nov., is described from shallow subtidal coarse sand collected at Moledo, Northern Portugal, close to the mouth of the Minho river. The new species differs from all other Batillipes species by its combination of toe pattern, dorsal and ventral lateral projections, caudal apparatus, cuticle segmentation and the presence of a dorsal indentation in its head. This new species was found in well-oxygenated, shallow subtidal, mediumcoarse sand with low organic matter content.
- New Indomalayan Nebularmis species (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae) provoke a discussion on its intrageneric diversityPublication . Gąsiorek, Piotr; Vončina, Katarzyna; Ciosek, Joanna; Veloso, Mariana; Fontoura, Paulo; Michalczyk, ŁukaszRecent years have brought undeniable progress in tardigrade taxonomy, and speciose complexes were detected in a number of phylogenetic lineages. The family Echiniscidae is one such lineage; it is one of the most diverse groups of limno-terrestrial tardigrades and can be characterized as having achieved great evolutionary success. In this contribution, using populations representing several species that originated from the Indomalayan region, we reconstructed phylogenetic affinities within Nebularmis, a recently erected genus within the Echiniscus lineage. Nebularmis auratus sp. nov. and Nebularmis burmensis sp. nov. are described from the Eastern Yoma Mountains and the Shan Hills (Myanmar), Nebularmis bhutanensis sp. nov. is described from the Eastern Himalayas (Bhutan), and Nebularmis indicus sp. nov. is described from the foothills of the Western Ghats (Goa, India). Moreover, males are reported in populations of the last two species. All known members of the genus can be phenotypically differentiated based on minute details of their dorsal sculpture and claws. Moreover, a very wide tropical distribution is demonstrated for Nebularmis cirinoi, recorded for the first time from islands of the Malay Archipelago. Furthemore, novel morphological, genetic, and geographic data allowed for the clarification of the generic diagnosis. Currently available data favor a scenario under which Nebularmis evolved in Southeast Asia and later dispersed to other regions of the globe.
- New records of marine tardigrades from Moorea, French Polynesia, with the description of Styraconyx turbinarium sp. nov. (Arthrotardigrada, Halechiniscidae)Publication . Bartels, Paul J.; Fontoura, Paulo; Nelson, Diane R.Five marine arthrotardigrade species are recorded from Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia. Four were collected from coral sand; two, Dipodarctus anaholiensis Pollock, 1995 and Florarctus kwoni Chang & Rho, 1997, are new records for the region, and two, Halechiniscus perfectus Schulz, 1955 and Styraconyx kristenseni kristenseni Renaud-Mornant, 1981, have been previously reported. The fifth, a new species Styraconyx turbinarium sp. nov., is described and was collected from the drifting brown alga Turbinaria ornata. The new species is characterized by the presence of peduncles on all digits, an elongate primary clava, and the lateral cirrus A arising from a common pedestal and enveloped by a common membrane extending almost to the claval tip. The new species differs from the most similar species, Styraconyx tyrrhenus D’Addabbo Gallo, Morone De Lucia & de Zio Grimaldi, 1989, by having longer and differently shaped primary clavae which are elongated in the new species and club-shaped in S. tyrrhenus. By having a dorsal cuticle that is coarsely punctated but without folds or other ornamentations, the new species can be easily distinguished from S. craticulus (Pollock, 1983), a species with similar primary clavae, but with cuticular dorsal folds ornamented with a grid-like pattern.
- A new species of Ligiarctus (Tardigrada, Arthrotardigrada) from the Brazilian continental shelf, Southwestern Atlantic OceanPublication . Júnior, Edivaldo Gomes; Santos, Érika; Rocha, Clélia M. C. da; Santos, Paulo J. P.; Fontoura, PauloA new marine arthrotardigrade, Ligiarctus alatus sp. nov. found in sediments of the Brazilian continental shelf (100–150 m depth) in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, is described in this study. This new species was recorded from sites located in the major oil extraction basins in Brazil (Campos and Potiguar basins). Within the subfamily Floractinae, the genus Ligiarctus characteristically presents primary clavae bent backwards, occupying the reduced lateral edges of the head. The new species is clearly distinguishable from L. eastwardi, the only known species of the genus, by the presence of internal distal notches on all claws, and six aliform cuticular expansions (frontal ala, two anterolateral alae, two posterolateral alae and caudal ala) with continuous digitiform procuticular supports (caesti). Ligiarctus eastwardi has only a caudal ala without caesti and internal notches are present on external claws only. The same pattern of cuticular expansions and caesti exhibited by the new species also occurs in the genus Florarctus, increasing the difficulty of defining the taxonomy of the subfamily Florarctinae, and forcing the emendment of the generic diagnosis of Ligiarctus.
- On the distribution of Batillipes tubernatis Pollock, 1971 (Arthrotardigrada: Batillipedidae) in the Atlantic BasinPublication . Santos, Érika; Rubal, Marcos; Veiga, Puri; Bartels, Paul J.; Rocha, Clélia M. C. da; Fontoura, PauloSpecimens of Batillipes tubernatis Pollock, 1971 collected from the Portuguese coast (Lusitanian sea province) indicated a considerable southward extension in the distribution of the species along the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Based on the examination of these specimens and those of Pollock’s collection from the type locality (Scotland), it can also be concluded that the redescription of B. tubernatis based on specimens from the Gulf of Mexico (tropical northwest Atlantic Ocean) does not correspond to that species. Several differences, namely in the shape of cephalic appendages, toe discs and pattern of cuticular sculpture, clearly distinguish specimens of B. tubernatis from those collected in the Gulf of Mexico that certainly belong to a new unnamed species. Moreover, the examination of specimens previously collected in the southwest Atlantic Ocean (Brazil) and attributed to B. tubernatis showed that they belong to other undescribed new Batillipes species, suggesting that B. tubernatis does not occur in that region. Additionally, the only record from the temperate northwest Atlantic Ocean attributed to this species cannot be assigned to B. tubernatis either. Therefore, a clarification about the current taxonomic status of B. tubernatis is provided and a short characterisation of the habitat of this species on the Portuguese coast is presented. As the occurrence of the species outside the northeast Atlantic Ocean is questioned, this work should renew the discussion about trans- and cis-Atlantic distributions of meiobenthic species.
- Preliminary studies of the tardigrada communities from a polymetallic nodule area of the deep South China SeaPublication . Wang, Xiaogu; Bai, Lifen; Wang, Chunsheng; Lu, Bo; Li, Yujie; Lin, Qinyi; Huang, Xinyu; Fontoura, PauloKnowledge about marine tardigrades from the South China Sea is very scarce, with only four species from shallow waters recorded to date. The present study investigated the structure and diversity of tardigrade communities from the deep sea (1517-1725 m) at 8 stations in a polymetallic nodule area of the northern South China Sea. A total of 151 arthrotardigrades were collected belonging to 11 genera (Angursa, Batillipes, Coronarctus, Euclavarctus, Exoclavarctus, Halechiniscus, Moebjergarctus, Raiarctus, Rhomboarctus, Tanarctus and Tholoarctus), representing 17 species. Two Angursa species (Angursa sp. 4 and Angursa sp. 3) were the most abundant (25.2% and 14.6%, respectively), followed by Moebjergarctus sp. (13.9%). Specimens were mostly (90.7%) distributed in the upper layer of the sandy-mud sediment (0-1 cm). The SIMPROF test showed that the composition of tardigrade communities at all stations was not significantly different. At different stations, the number of species, Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou’s evenness index ranged from 4 to 10, 1.94 to 2.87, and 0.75 to 1.00, respectively. The average taxonomic distinctness (D+) ranged from 72.50 to 90.00, and the variation in taxonomic distinctness (L+) ranged from 316.67 to 1181.25. This study provides some basic information about the biodiversity of the marine tardigrade community in the South China Sea.
- Three new Batillipes species (Arthrotardigrada: Batillipedidae) from the brazilian coastPublication . Santos, Erika; Rocha, Clélia M. C. da; Gomes, Edivaldo Júnior; Fontoura, PauloThree new tardigrade species, Batillipes brasiliensis sp. nov., Batillipes dandarae sp. nov. and Batillipes potiguarensis sp. nov., are described from shallow subtidal sediments of the Brazilian coast. B. brasiliensis sp. nov. and B. dandarae sp. nov. have toes 3 and 4 on leg IV different in length, so they can be included in the D group of species, while B. potiguarensis sp. nov., with toes 3 and 4 on leg IV equal in length belong to the A group. Batillipes brasiliensis sp. nov. is characterized by having an ala-like caudal expansion; cuticular projections on the coxal region of legs I-III, and lateral projections. The lateral projection located between the third and fourth legs is fringed with digit-shaped expansions. Batillipes dandarae sp. nov. has a dorsal blunt enlargement in the scapular region; a pointed triangular caudal appendage, and no lateral projections. The new species exhibits a sensorial spine on legs I inserted posteriorly and turning forward, and anus surrounded by a peculiar cuticular structure constituted by six platelets. Batillipes potiguarensis sp. nov. is characterized by a unique combination of characters: scapular region well developed, protruding laterally at the level of the first pair of legs; lateral blunt processes between legs, and prominent roundish caudal protrusion. In addition, the new species exhibits cephalic appendages with swollen tips, evident secondary clavae, and very short sense organs on the legs IV.