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- Title
New Asian and Nearctic Hypechiniscus species (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae) signalize a pseudocryptic horn of plenty.
- Authors
Gąsiorek, Piotr; Oczkowski, Artur; Blagden, Brian; Kristensen, Reinhardt M; Bartels, Paul J; Nelson, Diane R; Suzuki, Atsushi C; Michalczyk, Łukasz
- Abstract
The cosmopolitan echiniscid genus Hypechiniscus contains exclusively rare species. In this contribution, by combining statistical morphometry and molecular phylogeny, we present qualitative and quantitative aspects of Hypechiniscus diversity, which remained hidden under the two purportedly cosmopolitan species: H. gladiator and H. exarmatus. A neotype is designated for H. gladiator from Creag Meagaidh (Scotland), and an informal re-description is provided for H. exarmatus based on animals from Creag Meagaidh and the Isle of Skye (Inner Hebrides). Subspecies/forms of H. gladiator are suppressed due to the high developmental variability of the cirrus dorsalis. At the same time, four species of the genus are described: H. daedalus sp. nov. from Roan Mountain and the Great Smoky Mountains (Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA), H. flavus sp. nov. and H. geminus sp. nov. from the Yatsugatake Mountains (Honshu, Japan), and H. cataractus sp. nov. from the Malay Archipelago (Borneo and the Moluccas). Dorsal and ventral sculpturing, together with morphometric traits, are shown to be the key characters that allow for the phenotypic discrimination of species within the genus. Furthermore, the morphology of Hypechiniscus is discussed and compared to that of the most similar genera, Pseudechiniscus and Stellariscus. Finally, a diagnostic key to all recognized Hypechiniscus species is provided.
- Subjects
ENDANGERED species; MOLECULAR phylogeny; SPECIES; PHENOTYPES; GENETIC barcoding
- Publication
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2021, Vol 192, Issue 3, p794
- ISSN
0024-4082
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa110