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Soil tardigrades from the Antarctic Peninsula with a description of a new species and some remarks on the genus Ramajendas (Eutardigrada: Isohypsibiidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2013

Łukasz Kaczmarek
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, A. Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland (kaczmar@amu.edu.pl)
Karel Janko
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Fish Genetics, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Libechov, and Life Science Research Centre, Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Jerzy Smykla
Affiliation:
Department of Biodiversity, Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
Łukasz Michalczyk
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Kraków, Poland

Abstract

In thirteen (mostly soil) mixed samples, collected from nine localities on the Antarctic continent and some of the neighbouring islands, 788 specimens and 32 eggs of tardigrades were found. In total, five species were identified: Acutuncus antarcticus, Echiniscus jenningsi, Diphascon (D.) victoriae, Hypsibius dujardini and Ramajendas dastychi sp. nov. A. antarcticus was the most abundant (nearly 90% of all specimens) and was the prevailing taxon found in the majority of locations. R. dastychi sp. nov. is the fourth species described in the exclusively Antarctic/sub-Antarctic genus. The new species differs from all other congeners by the presence of four gibbosities on the caudo-dorsal cuticle (configuration II:2–2) and also by some morphometric characters. In this paper we also briefly discuss the taxonomy and zoogeography of the genus Ramajendas.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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