Revision of the Echiniscus bigranulatus group with a description of a new species Echiniscus madonnae (Tardigrada: Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae) from South America Author Michalczyk, Łukasz Author Kaczmarek, Łukasz text Zootaxa 2006 1154 1 26 journal article 50605 10.5281/zenodo.172226 1a8e938e-81d6-4a70-9368-68977b96ab29 1175­5326 172226 Echiniscus ranzii Ramazzotti, 1964 ( Figs. 69–71 ) Material examined Syntype , slide no. CT 12742, mounted in Faure’s medium, from Cerro del Pajonal, Chile , South America (The Ramazzotti & Maucci Collection, Museum of Verona, Italy ). Description Based mainly on the data from Ramazzotti & Maucci (1983) . Body length 124.0 to 320.0, including larvae ( syntype : 171.0) ( Fig. 69 ). Body red. Red eyes visible in living specimens only. Internal/external cirrus ratio ca. 0.33–0.50. Apart from head cirri and cirrus A, no other appendices present. Cirrus A 128.0–200.0 long ( syntype : 87.4), ending in a point. Cirrus A/body ratio 0.50–0.90, mean = 0.66 ± 0.03 ( syntype : 0.51). TABLE 5. Lengths [in µm] and length ratios of selected morphological structures of juveniles of Echiniscus ollantaytamboensis mounted in Hoyer’s medium (MIN and MAX refer to the smallest and the largest structure found among all measured specimens; SD — Standard Deviation, N — number of specimens/structures measured). Specimens from population found in Peru .

CHARACTER MIN	MAX	MEAN	SD	N
Body 209.0	247.0	230.4	19.6	4
Internal cirrus 6.7	13.8	10.5	3.1	4
Cephalic papilla 6.7	9.5	8.3	1.3	4
External cirrus 12.4	30.4	22.5	9.2	3
Cirrus A 28.5	62.7	48.5	17.8	3
Clava 4.8	7.6	6.4	1.2	4
Spine on leg 1 2.9	3.8	3.3	0.5	4
Papilla on leg 4 3.8	4.8	4.4	0.5	4
Number of teeth on collar 7	10	9.0	1.7	3
Notch 12.4	17.1	15.0	2.0	4
Claw IV 13.8	14.3	14.1	0.3	3
Spur of claw IV 1.4	2.4	2.1	0.5	3
Spur/Claw ratio 0.10	0.17	0.15	0.04	3
Cirrus A /Body ratio 0.14	0.25	0.20	0.06	3
Cirrus int/ext ratio 0.38	0.54	0.46	0.08	3
Cirrus int/ A ratio 0.15	0.25	0.21	0.05	3
Cirrus ext/ A ratio 0.39	0.56	0.46	0.09	3

Dorsal (plate) cuticle probably with true pores and with true granulation. Granules (true granulation, on cuticle surface) present on stripes in anterior portions of paired plates and in anterior part of second median plate. Granules variable in size (0.5–1.0 in diameter). Cuticle appearance in PCM: pores visible as bright, cuticular pillars appear as dark dots. Pores and cuticular pillars very well focusable, at same level. All plates well developed. Head and scapular plates not faceted. Third median plate present and well developed, in smaller specimens developed anteriorly. Terminal plate faceted. Notches in syntype 14.3 long. Small spine on legs I, papilla and dentate collar with 4–9 teeth on legs IV. External claws of legs IV with a single or double spur, internal claws of all legs with a relatively small spur, directed downwards ( Figs. 70–71 ). Sometimes spurs present also on external claws of legs I–III or just some of them. Remarks Since we were able to examine only one syntype and the original description was written forty years ago, the description of this species is relatively poor in comparison to other species within the bigranulatus group. However a set of characters makes this species very easily recognisable among other known members of the group ( e.g. , a very high Cirrus A /body ratio and the presence of spurs on external claws).

Type locality
South America, Chile,	Cerro	del Pajonal;	lichen from	rocks;	ca. 4600	m asl;	20 August
1963.

TABLE 6. Lengths [in µm] and length ratios of selected morphological structures of larvae of Echiniscus ollantaytamboensis mounted in Hoyer’s medium (MIN and MAX refer to the smallest and the largest structure found among all measured specimens; SD — Standard Deviation, N — number of specimens/structures measured). Specimens from population found in Peru.

CHARACTER MIN	MAX	MEAN	SD	N
Body 147.3	211.9	186.2	34.3	3
Internal cirrus 6.7	8.1	7.1	0.8	3
Cephalic papilla 6.7	6.7	6.7	0.0	3
External cirrus 11.4	18.1	14.3	3.4	3
Cirrus A 39.9	43.7	41.5	2.0	3
Clava 5.7	6.2	5.9	0.3	3
Spine on leg 1 2.4	3.8	3.3	0.8	3
Papilla on leg 4 3.3	3.8	3.6	0.3	3
Number of teeth on collar 6	9	7.7	1.5	3
Notch 13.3	16.2	14.6	1.5	3
Claw IV 12.4	17.1	14.9	2.4	3
Spur of claw IV 1.9	1.9	1.9	0.0	3
Spur/Claw ratio 0.11	0.15	0.13	0.02	3
Cirrus A /Body ratio 0.20	0.27	0.23	0.04	3
Cirrus int/ext ratio 0.45	0.58	0.51	0.07	3
Cirrus int/ A ratio 0.16	0.18	0.17	0.01	3
Cirrus ext/ A ratio 0.29	0.41	0.34	0.07	3

TABLE 7. Statistical comparisons of mean lengths of selected morphological structures and their length ratios between adults of all known species within the Echiniscus bigranulatus group. The p values for the independent sample t test are provided and statistically significant differences are marked in bold (p<0.050). Arrows indicate whether the first species mean is higher or lower in a particular comparison (10 specimens of E. bigranulatus , 24 specimens of E. madonnae sp. nov . and 13 specimens of E. ollantaytamboensis were compared). Geographic distribution Known only from the type locality. Type depositories Type specimens are preserved at the Museum of Verona, Italy . Etymology The species was named after Professor Silvio Ranzii . Differential diagnosis For comparisons with other species of the bigranulatus group see Tables 7–8 . TABLE 8. Comparisons of characters, mean lengths of selected morphological structures and their length ratios between adults of all known species within the Echiniscus bigranulatus group (* — ranges, since means were not provided in the original description). CHARACTER E. bigranulatus E. madonnae sp. nov. E.ollantaytamboensis E. ranzii Richters, 1908 ( type population) Miller et al., 2001 Ramazzotti, 1964 ( neotype (from Puno, Peru ) (original population) description and syntype )