Hypsibius arcticus ( Murray, 1907c ), 2017

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, 2017, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa, Zootaxa 4284 (1), pp. 1-74 : 23-24

52. Hypsibius arcticus ( Murray, 1907c) sensu lato [T]

M. arcticus ? Murray (Murray 1907a)

Macrobiotus arcticus Murray (Murray 1913)

Terra typica: Franz Josef Land (Russia)

Kenya:

• 01°15′S, 36°41′E; 2,000 m asl: Kiambu County, Kikuyu , moss. Murray (1913) Republic of South Africa:

• 25°45′S, 28°11′E; 1,300 m asl: Gauteng Province, Pretoria , moss. Murray (1913) • 29°44′S, 22°44′E: Undefined locality , Cape Colony [Cape Province]. Murray (1907a) Uganda:

• 01°22′N, 32°17′E: Undefined locality. Murray (1913)

Record numbers. Kenya: 1. Republic of South Africa: 2, Uganda: 1; total: 4.

Remarks. Described as ‘ arcticus ’ by Murray (1907a; 1913) in both references there is a confusion between the species described as ‘ arcticus ’ and ‘ antarcticus ’. Murray (1907a) reported a single egg, similar to Macrobiotus hastatus that was smaller but with fewer and thicker rods (i.e. comparing with Acutuncus antarcticus egg description) from the Cape Colony. Later Murray (1913) indicated a “supposed egg of this species…” from Uganda (not Cape Colony) and “an animal like the adult of the species…” from Kikuyu. This species confusion and other limited information means the ‘African’ Hypsibius arcticus should be considered questionable and requiring verification.