Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) paucisquamatus Kisielewski, 1991

Kolicka, Małgorzata, 2019, Gastrotricha - not only in sediments: new epiphytic species of Chaetonotida from the Jubilee Greenhouse of the Botanical Garden in Kraków, European Journal of Taxonomy 511, pp. 1-100 : 18-19

Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) paucisquamatus Kisielewski, 1991

Figs 12–13 ; Table 3

Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) paucisquamatus Kisielewski, 1991: 40 –42, figs 47–50.

Locus typicus

Brazil.

Material examined

POLAND • 1 adult; Kraków, Botanical Garden, Jubilee Greenhouse, site 1 ; 50°03'38" N, 19°57'30" E; 15 Nov. 2013; M. Kolicka leg.; NHC (photomicrographs, also in the author's collection) .

Distribution

This species was previously known only from Brazil, namely from water reservoirs, silt sediments and aquatic vegetation ( Kisielewski 1991).

Remarks

The specimen found in the Jubilee Greenhouse in Kraków is consistent with the detailed description of Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) paucisquamatus Kisielewski, 1991 . The presence of only one specimen does not allow for a thorough comparison and for conclusions to be drawn; however, the individual observed in Poland differed slightly from the original description by: its smaller body size ( Table 3); a larger number of scales in the central longitudinal row than in the original description ( Table 3); the presence of thin, rounded scales on the ventral interciliary field, increasing in size and isolation from the cuticle towards the posterior trunk region, where the scales possessed weak keels; and the presence of one pair of elongated, elliptical and keeled ventral terminal scales. These differences may result from phenotypic variation caused, e.g., by different developing conditions. Due to the lack of any differences in the other taxonomic characteristics, there are no grounds to conclude that the recorded individual represents a separate species.

Figures

Fig. 12. Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) paucisquamatus Kisielewski, 1991. Adult specimen. Phase contrast microphotographs. A. Dorsal body view. B. View of internal morphology. C. Ventral body view.

Fig. 13. Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) paucisquamatus Kisielewski, 1991. Adult specimen. Bright field microphotographs. A. Anterior trunk, dorsal view. B. Anterior trunk ventral view. C. Posterior trunk dorsal view. D. Posterior trunk, ventral view.