A huge undescribed diversity of the subgenus Hystricochaetonotus (Gastrotricha, Chaetonotidae, Chaetonotus) in Central Europe Križanová, Františka Rataj Vďačný, Peter European Journal of Taxonomy 2022 2022-10-11 840 1 93 6d94fdb3-ebc3-412a-ad41-b019150c8a6e Križanová & Vďačný, 2022 Križanová & Vďačný 2022 [478,1011,264,291] Chaetonotidae Chaetonotus Animalia Chaetonotida 69 70 Gastrotricha species slavicus sp. nov. Hystricochaetonotus   urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 9826403E-1298-4889-8E0B-3A19A9EFB3AE  Fig. 9    Molecular diagnosis 18S rRNA gene: 1548 A. ITS2: 52 G, 107 C, 115 A, 156 C, 171 A. Cytochrome coxidase subunit I (codon ordinal numbers are followed by the corresponding span of nucleotide positions in parentheses): 9 (25‒27) TTC, 65 (193‒195) TTC, 96 (286‒288) CTG, 100 (298‒300) CTG, 143 (427‒429) TCC, 161 (481‒483) GCC. Reference molecules are shown in Supp. file 1: Figs S8, S 12B, S 20. All diagnostic molecular autapomorphies are marked by arrows. Reference alignments with corresponding nucleotide positions are in Supp. file 1: Alignments 1‒4. The p-distance from species described in the present study is 0.05‒4.38% in 18S, 5.88‒31.02% in ITS2, 0.52‒9.78% in 28S, and 7.85‒13.59% in COI. There are 1‒16 CBCs (except for Ch.( H).  arcanus sp. nov., Ch.( H).  iratus sp. nov., and Ch.( H).  luxus sp. nov., where there are no CBCs) in the 18S rRNA molecule, 1‒3 CBCs in the ITS2 molecule (except for Ch.( H).  arcanus sp. nov., Ch.( H).  gulosus sp. nov., and Ch.( H).  luxus sp. nov., where there are no CBCs), and 2‒18 CBCs in the first two domains of the 28S rRNA gene (except for Ch.( H).  arcanus sp. nov., Ch.( H).  iratus sp. nov., and Ch.( H).  luxus sp. nov., where there are no CBCs).    Etymology The Latin adjective ‘ slavic· us, - a, - um’ [m, f, n] (‘Slavic’) refers to the typelocality (Devín castle) of the new species, which is an important place in Slovak history.    Material examined    Holotype SLOVAKIA• adult(the specimen was destroyed during DNA extraction); temporary pond in the floodplain area of the River Morava, Devín, Bratislava, Podunajskárovina plain; 48°10′29.4″ N, 16°58′35.8″ E.    Paratypes SLOVAKIA• 3 adults(the specimens were destroyed during DNA extraction); same collection data as for holotype. Photomicrographs of the holotypeare available at the Department of Zoology, Comenius University in Bratislava at https://fns.uniba.sk/en/gastrotricha/.   Type material A DNA sample of the holotypespecimen DB 40 has been deposited in the Natural History Museum, Vajanského nábrežie 2, 810 06 Bratislava, Slovakia(ID Collection Code 01427570).   Type locality Ephemeral pond in the floodplain area of the River Morava near the foothill of the Devín castle, Bratislava, Podunajská rovina plain, Slovakia, 48°10′29.4″N 16°58′35.8″E.   Gene sequences The nuclear 18S and ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S rDNA sequences as well as the mitochondrial COI sequence of the holotypespecimen DB 40 have been deposited in GenBank under the following accession numbers:  OM421724,  OM421700, and  OM424079, respectively.    Remarks Unfortunately, all our attempts for thorough morphological investigations of this species failed. Without a name,  Ch.( H.) slavicus sp. nov.would be nothing but a label and nucleotide sequences in the GenBank database. However, this entity can be clearly separated from other species by the combination of 18S, ITS region, 28S, and COI sequences. Moreover, it represents a distinct lineage in multi-gene phylogenies ( Fig. 9). As ICZN (1999)allows that any part of an animal is eligible to be a name-bearing type(Article 72.5.1), we interpret the isolated DNA as a part of an animal and use it as typematerial. This strategy is also used in protists whose names are governed by the Zoological Code (e.g., Lynn et al.2018; Pecina & Vďačný 2022). It is important to mention that the principle of priority applies even if any part of an animal is named before the whole animal (Article 23.3.2.1). 3926158311 Slovakia Podunajska 48.174835 Devin 1 16.976612 Bratislava 69 70 1 holotype 3926158314 Slovakia Podunajska 48.174835 SLOVAKIA 1 16.976612 Bratislava 69 70 3 3 paratype