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Publication
On the distribution of Batillipes tubernatis Pollock, 1971 (Arthrotardigrada: Batillipedidae) in the Atlantic Basin
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Specimens 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.
Description
Keywords
Biogeography Cosmopolitism Endemism Meiofauna Tardigrada Taxonomy Introduction
Citation
Marine Biodiversity, 1-11. Doi: 10.1007/s12526-017-0834-9
Publisher
Springer Verlag