Two new species of Macrobiotus (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae) from Tien Shan (Kirghizia), with notes on Macrobiotus tenuis group

Abstract

An illustrated description of Macrobiotus barabanovi sp. nov. and Macrobiotus kirghizicus sp. nov. from Tien Shan (Kirghizia) is given. Macrobiotus barabanovi sp. nov. belongs to the harmsworthi group. It differs from the majority of species of this group in having very long claws. Macrobiotus kirghizicus sp. nov. is similar to M. ariekammensis in claw morphology, but differs clearly from this species in having differences in bucco-pharyngeal apparatus and characters of the egg processes. Based on the details of the claws structure, M. ariekammensis is excluded from the tenuis group of the genus Macrobiotus and grouped together with M. kirghizicus sp. nov. in the new ariekammensis group.

New tardigrade records for the Baltic states with a description of Minibiotus formosus sp. n. (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae)

“…The species belongs to the harmsworthi group which is widely distributed across a broad range of ecosystems throughout the world ( McInnes 1994 , Kaczmarek et al 2014a ). In the last decade many new species within this group were described from a variety of localities ( Michalczyk and Kaczmarek 2003b , Pilato et al 2004 , Tumanov 2005a , Pilato and Lisi 2006a , b , Pilato et al 2006a , Kaczmarek et al 2007 , Kaczmarek and Michalczyk 2009b , Pilato and Lisi 2009a , Rossi et al 2009 , see also Kaczmarek et al 2011 for the diagnostic key to the group). Due to many uncertain reports of Macrobiotus harmsworthi harmsworthi , especially in older literature, the distribution of the species is currently unknown.…”

Novel integrative data for two Milnesium Doyère, 1840 (Tardigrada: Apochela) species from Central Asia

“…So far, the tardigrade fauna of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic have not been thoroughly investigated, with only a few contributions published in the current century, focusing mostly on descriptions of new species (e.g. : Tumanov 2003Tumanov , 2005Tumanov , 2006Tumanov , 2007Kaczmarek et al 2018;Zawierucha et al 2018or Coughlan et al 2019. In this region, three Milnesium species were described and two of them, M. almatyense Tumanov, 2006 andM.…”

Observations on the “tenuisgroup” (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae) and description of a newMacrobiotusspecies

“…Maucci (1987a) identified the following species within this group: Macrobiotus tenuis Binda and Pilato, 1972, Macrobiotus willardi Pilato, 1977, Macrobiotus mongolicus Maucci, 1987b, Macrobiotus ariekammensis Węglarska, 1965, Macrobiotus hyperonyx Maucci, 1982, Macrobiotus higginsi Maucci, 1987a, and Macrobiotus hystricogenitus Maucci, 1978. In 1999 to this group Macrobiotus kozharai Biserov, 1999. Tumanov (2005, 2007, besides defining the ''tenuis-type'' of claw excluding the group M. ariekammensis, added to this group Macrobiotus danilovi Tumanov, 2007, Macrobiotus tenuiformis Tumanov, 2007, andMacrobiotus voronkovi Tumanov, 2007. The polyphyletic status of the genus Macrobiotus (one of the largest tardigrade genera) (Guidetti and Bertolani 2001;Guidetti et al 2005Guidetti et al , 2007 and the finding of a new Macrobiotus species with several characters common to the ''tenuis group'' prompted us to examine known species of this group, to evaluate their homogeneity as a taxonomic group with a view to the future systematic re-organization of the genus.…”

“…Moreover, these two species and M. caelicola have several common characters that distinguish them from other species of the ''tenuis group'' and from other Macrobiotus species: cuticular pearls, a large dorsal tooth on the inner surface of the buccal tube, a long ventral lamina, and notably long claws, which are even longer on the hind legs. Tumanov (2005) proposed a new group of species within Macrobiotus designated the ''ariekammensis'' group, based on claw structure. This ariekammensis group is composed of M. ariekammensis and Macrobiotus kirghizicus Tumanov, 2005.…”

“…Tumanov (2005) proposed a new group of species within Macrobiotus designated the ''ariekammensis'' group, based on claw structure. This ariekammensis group is composed of M. ariekammensis and Macrobiotus kirghizicus Tumanov, 2005. Macrobiotus kirghizicus shares with M. hyperonyx, M. ariekammensis, and M. caelicola the features of a long ventral lamina, long claws and longer claws on the hind legs compared to the other legs, but differs in that it lacks cuticular pearls and a large dorsal tooth on the innner surface of the buccal tube.…”