Marine Tardigrada from the Mexican Caribbean with the description of Styraconyx robertoi sp. nov. (Arthrotardigrada: Styraconyxidae)
Author
Pérez-Pech, Wilbert Andrés
Author
Jesús-Navarrate, Alberto De
Author
Demilio, Erica
Author
Anguas-Escalante, Abril
Author
Hansen, Jesper Guldberg
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-02-10
4731
4
492
508
journal article
24097
10.11646/zootaxa.4731.4.3
7b208096-3c50-4855-98c8-adbf0bb0902d
1175-5326
3661944
0F693568-B754-4594-BBCB-9B396EBA978B
Dipodarctus
sp.
1 specimen
(
PM
: 1 indeterminable gender)
Comparative material:
36 specimens
reported as
Dipodarctus
by
Pérez-Pech
et al.
(2018)
(ML: gender determinations not attempted)
Remarks:
The single specimen from Puerto
Morelos
displays a set of characters that are typical of the genus including: the primary clavae much longer than, and ventral to the lateral cirri; innermost digit (digit 1) on legs I–III slightly shorter than the other digits; and digit 3 slightly longer than the other digits. The specimen is distinguished from all described members of the genus by a set of dorsolateral wing-like structures. The nature of these unique structures requires further investigation pending the recovery of more specimens.
The single specimen was determined not to represent the same taxon as those used to establish the generic record of
Dipodarctus
by
Perez-Pech
et al
. (2018)
for
Mexico
. Re-examination of the latter specimens found that these should be regarded as
Halechiniscus
cf.
perfectus
Schulz, 1955
because they correspond to the limited description of that species but digit 3 on leg pairs I–III is slightly longer than the other digits. This digit pattern is characteristic of
Dipodarctus
as opposed to
Halechiniscus
, hence the confusion regarding the assignment of the specimens to the former genus by
Pérez-Pech
et al.
(2018)
. Therefore, only one record for ‘
Dipodarctus
sp.’,
i.e
. the present, should be considered as valid for
Mexico
.