Pulchritia, Luo, Yongting & Segers, Hendrik, 2013

Luo, Yongting & Segers, Hendrik, 2013, On Pulchritia new genus, with a reappraisal of the genera of Trichotriidae (Rotifera, Monogononta), ZooKeys 342, pp. 1-12 : 3

Genus Pulchritia gen. n.

Type species.

Monostyla dorsicornuta Van Oye, 1926.

Diagnosis.

Body, including head and foot, loricate; head retractile, foot non-retractile, consisting of a short basal, squarish and an elongate, cylindrical foot pseudosegment terminating in two equal toes. Anal segment strongly reduced. Trunk lorica ventrally relatively flat, dorsally with a Y-shaped keel, pustulated, rounded elliptical.

Etymology.

The name Pulchritia is derived from the Latin adjective pulcher, meaning "pretty, beautiful, handsome". It refers to the beauty of its type species, Pulchritia dorsicornuta comb. n.

Discussion.

We recognize this genus as containing two species, Pulchritia dorsicornuta comb. n. and Pulchritia kostei ( José de Paggi, Branco & Kozlowsky-Suzuki, 2000), comb. n.

The two share a number of features that clearly sets them apart from other Trichotriidae . Their rounded, dorso-ventrally flattened trunk shape reminds one only of Macrochaetus , while the anal segment being reduced is as in certain Trichotria (e.g., Trichotria buchneri Koste, Shiel & Tan, 1988, Trichotria brevidactyla Harring, 1913 (= Trichotria curta (Skorikov, 1914))). The peculiar keel formation of the dorsal lorica is somewhat similar to Trichotria buchneri only. The unique foot structure of the two species, however, can be considered synapomorphic and is superficially and probably functionally similar to the foot consisting of a single short foot pseudosegment and elongated, fused toes bearing terminal (pseudo)claws of some Lecane species.