Macrobiotus occidentalis Murray, 1910, 2017

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, 2017, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa, Zootaxa 4284 (1), pp. 1-74 : 47-48

132. Macrobiotus occidentalis Murray, 1910 sensu lato [T]

Macrobiotus occidentalis J. Murray 1910 , Macrobiotus occidentalis J. Murray 1910 betschârensis nov. var. ( Rahm 1936) Macrobiotus occidentalis J. Murray 1910 (da Cunha & do Nascimento 1964) Terra typica : British Columbia ( Canada, North America)

Angola:

• 07°47′S, 15°01′E; 650 m asl: Uíge Province, near Carmona [Uíge], Estate at Pumba Loge, lichens. da Cunha & do Nascimento (1964)

• 15°01′S, 13°22′E; 1,950 m asl: Huíla Province, Sá da Bandeira [Lubango], Boca da Humpata, lichens. da Cunha & do Nascimento (1964)

Israel and Palestinian National Authority:

• 31°47′N, 35°15′E; 800 m asl: Judean Mountains, Jerusalem, Olives Mt., Pater Noster church, Russians tower, wall of church, moss ( Syntrichium sp.) or lichen ( Xanthoria parietina). Rahm (1936)

• 31°46′N, 35°13′E; 800 m asl: Undefined locality, “Betschar bei Kilometer 22”, moss (Syntrichium sp.) or lichen ( Xanthoria parietina). Rahm (1936)

Tanzania:

• 03°12′S, 37°31′E; ca. 2,500 m asl: Kilimanjaro Region, Kilimanjaro National Park, Maranda [Mandara] trail, tree line, benthos sample from river . Van Rompu et al. (1991a)

Record numbers. Angola: 2, Israel and Palestinian National Authority: 2, Tanzania: 1; total: 5.

Remarks. Macrobiotus occidentalis sensu lato is largely Holarctic ( McInnes 1994), with a few southern hemisphere reports. The possibility of a species complex would indicate these African specimens should be reexamined.