An annotated checklist of the macrodasyidan Gastrotricha from India
Author
Chatterjee, Tapas
Author
Priyalakshmi, Geetha
Author
Todaro, M. Antonio
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-01-21
4545
4
495
510
journal article
27674
10.11646/zootaxa.4545.4.3
7752c97e-c9bc-49c3-b1dd-0db7992b3e6c
1175-5326
2618301
B0910D8D-E387-4BDB-941F-40D06CBBBAD0
Tetranchyroderma massiliense
Swedmark, 1956
Records from
India
.
KERALA
: Azhikode beach, Neendakara beach—Govindankutty&
Nair (1969)
,
Rajan & Nair (1979)
; GENERAL RECORD:
Naidu & Rao (2004)
.
Habitat.
Marine; Coarse sand grains of high water neap level.
Distribution
:
France
(Mediterranean sea and Atlantic coast);
India
(? see below),
south Korea
(? see below)
Remarks.
Govindankutty & Nair (1969)
found a single specimen and the affiliation to the taxon was tentative. Indeed, based on the description and the drawing they provided, it seems very unlikely that the Indian specimen belongs to
T. massiliense
, because it was smaller (167 µm vs 290–310 µm in total length), had a single pair of
cirrata
tubes (vs two pairs) and a single pair of adhesive tubes between the caudal feet (vs two pairs).
Naidu & Rao (2004)
provided a description somewhat different i.e., the presence of two pairs of
cirrata
tubes and two pairs of adhesive tubes between the caudal feet; while the body length was the same as reported by
Govindankutty & Nair (1969)
. Thus, it is unclear whether the Authors were referring to the same specimen or not. Regardless, the very high number of tetrancres rows, 48–50, indicated that even this description does not fit the original description of
T. massiliense
.
Considering all the above, we consider this species finding as a doubtful record that require more evidence to prove the presence of this species on the Indian coast. Furthermore,
Naidu & Rao (2004)
reported the species to be present also in
South Korea
, however we could not find evidence in this regard, and the species is not included among the invertebrate fauna of
Korea
(see
Lee 2012
).