Megastygarctides orbiculatus McKirdy, Schmidt & McGinty-Bayly, 1976

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, Bartels, Paul J., Roszkowska, Milena & Nelson, Diane R., 2015, The Zoogeography of Marine Tardigrada, Zootaxa 4037 (1), pp. 1-189 : 131

149. Megastygarctides orbiculatus McKirdy, Schmidt & McGinty-Bayly, 1976

Megastygarctides orbiculatus nov. spec. ( McKirdy et al. 1976)

Megastygarctides orbiculatus McKirdy et al., 1976 (D’Addabbo Gallo et al. 1999a) Megastygarctides orbiculatus ( Kharkevych & Sergeeva 2011)

Terra typica : Pacific Ocean (Galapagos Islands)

Black Sea:

• 45 ° 21′N, 32 ° 29′E: [FAO37] Undefined locality, Ukraine / Russia, Crimean Peninsula, Chornomorske District, Cape Tarkhankut. Kharkevych & Sergeeva (2011)

• 44 ° 36′N, 33 ° 27′E: [FAO37] Undefined locality, Ukraine / Russia, Crimean Peninsula, District of Sevastopol, Omega Bay. Kharkevych & Sergeeva (2011)

• 44 ° 35′N, 33 ° 24′E: [FAO37] Undefined locality, Ukraine / Russia, Crimean Peninsula, District of Sevastopol, Kazachja Bay. Kharkevych & Sergeeva (2011)

Ionian Sea:

• 40°13′90′′N, 17°54′59′′E [40°13′N, 17°55′E]; 0 m bsl: [FAO37] Italy, Lecce Province, San Isidoro [Sant’Isidoro]. Grimaldi de Zio et al. (2003)

Ligurian Sea:

• 43°32′N, 10°12′E; 18 m bsl: [FAO37] Italy, Livorno Province, near Meloria Shoals Lighthouse, thick layer of dead leaves of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica , sediment samples. D’Addabbo Gallo et al. (1999a)

Pacific Ocean:

• 00°19′N, 89°57′W; 0 m bsl: [FAO87] Galapagos Islands, Tower Island [Genovesa Island], 0–100 cm deep in sand. McKirdy et al. (1976)

• 00°33′S, 90°31′W; 0 m bsl: [FAO87] Type Locality: Galapagos Islands, Santa Cruz Island, Conway Bay, midhigh tide area, 0–20 cm depth, fine to medium sand. McKirdy et al. (1976)

• 00°45′S, 90°19′W; 0 m bsl: [FAO87] Galapagos Islands, Santa Cruz Island, Academy Bay, 0–100 cm deep in sand. McKirdy et al. (1976)

Record numbers (Sea/Ocean classification): Black Sea: 3, Ionian Sea: 1, Ligurian Sea: 1, Pacific Ocean: 3; total: 8.

Record numbers (FAO classification): FAO37: 5, FAO87: 3; total: 8.

Remarks: This species was described from tropical waters around the Galapagos Islands and later reported from European localities off the coast of the Black, Ionian and Ligurian Seas. It is an intertidal or subtidal species found 0–100 cm deep in sand. It is our opinion that the European localities of this species require confirmation due to the distance from the type locality and different climatic zone.