Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa
Author
Kaczmarek, Łukasz
text
Zootaxa
2017
2017-06-28
4284
1
1
74
journal article
31842
10.11646/zootaxa.4284.1.1
ac866645-a8b9-45a8-8c7d-d3aff74ede70
1175-5326
1010400
1CD17B31-E3D0-4BFB-8B69-144D97949038
125.
Macrobiotus hibiscus
de
Barros, 1942
sensu lato
[T]
MacRobiotus hibiscus
Barros, 1942
(
Grigarick
et al.
1973
)
Terra typica
: Brazil (South America)
Tanzania:
•
06°22′S, 34°53′E:
Undefined locality.
Grigarick
et al.
(1973)
Record numbers.
Tanzania: 1;
total: 1.
Remarks.
This reference is based solely on eggs, with no additional information.
Macrobiotus hibiscus
is possibly a junior synonym of
Macrobiotus hufelandi
as the morphology of this species falls within the
Macrobiotus hufelandi
group diagnosis (e.g.
Kathman 1990
). This group requires careful taxonomic analysis, including egg morphology, for correct identification (see
Bertolani & Rebecchi 1993
for a diagnostic key and other papers for more recent species descriptions: e.g.
Pilato
et al.
2003b
,
Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2004c
,
Fontoura
et al.
2008b
,
Bartels
et al.
2009
,
Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2009b
,
Guidetti
et al.
2013
). A few additional species from the
hufelandi
group have been described from Africa and neighbouring islands, e.g.
M. iharosi
or
M. madegassus
Maucci, 1993
. Further work on the Brazilian
type
material or
type
locale will clarify the status and biogeography of this species. The limited material from this report suggests the presence of
M. hibiscus
in Africa is very doubtful.