Tardigrada of Ireland: a review of records and an updated checklist of species including a new addition to the Irish fauna

Abstract

The phylum Tardigrada was not recorded in Ireland until the Clare Island Survey of 1909–1911, with only rare subsequent reports on Irish tardigrade species. In recent decades, significant taxonomic revision has occurred within Tardigrada. This has resulted in the need for a review of all known historical records from Ireland and Northern Ireland in order to produce an updated checklist of valid taxa. The new checklist includes fifty-one tardigrade species and subspecies including a new addition to the Irish fauna reported herein, Echiniscus quadrispinosus quadrispinosus Richters, 1902 from Newtown, Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare.

First records of tardigrades (Tardigrada) from Irish and Scottish leaf litter

“…The specimens were also identifiable as D. pingue via the dichotomous key for the group by Fontoura & Pilato (2007). The collection of these specimens of D. pingue pingue from Barna Woods confirms the presence of the species in Ireland (see DeMilio et al 2016).…”

“…Nelson, 2002;Nelson et al, 2019), knowledge of the limnoterrestrial tardigrade fauna of the Republic of Ireland (hereafter referred to as "Ireland"), Scotland and the remainder of the U.K. is predominantly based on studies of mosses and lichens as microhabitats (e.g. Murray, 1905aMurray, , 1905bMurray, , 1906aMurray, , 1906bMurray, , 1907Murray, , 1911aMurray, , 1911bLe Gros, 1955, 1957Morgan, 1976;Morgan & King, 1976;Wright, 1991;DeMilio et al, 2016;Morek et al, 2016;Stec et al, 2017). Other studies carried out in England included rain gutter sediment (Bertolani & Kinchin, 1993) or a small number of leaf litter samples among more numerous mosses or lichens (Greaves, 1991;Greaves & Marley, 1994;Nattress et al, 2014).…”