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Two new species of Tardigrada (Eutardigrada: Ramazzottiidae, Macrobiotidae) from the supralittoral zone of the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula rocky shores

Publication . Fontoura, Paulo; Rubal, Marcos; Veiga, Puri

Two 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.

2017Journal article

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Batillipes pennaki Marcus, 1946 (Arthrotardigrada: Batillipedidae): deciphering a species complex

Publication . Santos, Erika; Veiga, Puri; Rubal, Marcos; Bartels, Paul J.; Rocha, Clélia M. C.da; Fontoura, Paulo

Batillipes 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.

2019Journal article

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