Browsing by Author "Rubal, Marcos"
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Two new species of Tardigrada (Eutardigrada: Ramazzottiidae, Macrobiotidae) from the supralittoral zone of the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula rocky shoresPublication . Fontoura, Paulo; Rubal, Marcos; Veiga, PuriTwo new species of Eutardigrada were found in supralittoral lichens, growing on rocky shores at two localities of the Western Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Ramazzottius littoreus sp. nov., found in San Cibrao (North of Spain), has the dorsal cuticle sculptured with small tubercles and claws with accessory points similar to R. oberhaeuseri. It can be distinguished from all the other known Ramazzottius species with the same type of cuticular sculpture by the dotted egg shell and the peculiar reticulation visible at the bulbous base of egg processes. Macrobiotus halophilus sp. nov., found in Cascais (Centre of Portugal), belongs to the Macrobiotus hufelandi group. The slightly wrinkled egg shell and egg processes in the shape of inverted chalice with dentate distal disc, identifies it as a member of the Macrobiotus persimilis subgroup. The new dioecious species differs from the six other species of the M. persimilis subgroup by a unique combination of some characters (small and very sparse circular cuticular pores, granulation on legs I–III and dentate lunules on legs IV), by measurements of some structures (claws and buccal apparatus), and by the number, dimension and shape of egg processes.