An integrative redescription of the nominal taxon for the Mesobiotus harmsworthi group (Tardigrada: Macrobiotidae) leads to descriptions of two new Mesobiotus species from Arctic

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 17;13(10):e0204756. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204756. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The Mesobiotus harmsworthi group has a global distribution, with localities in polar, temperate and tropical zones. Since the first species of the harmsworthi group was described in the beginning of the 20th century, tens of new species within the group were found and named. However, the diagnosis of the nominal Mesobiotus harmsworthi is insufficient and enigmatic, thus it can be is a serious obstacle in solving the taxonomy of this group. Here, we integratively redescribe the nominal species for the genus Mesobiotus, i.e., Mesobiotus harmsworthi and clarify taxonomic statuses of the two subspecies: M. harmsworthi harmsworthi and M. harmsworthi obscurus that have been recognised as distinct taxa for more than three decades. Traditionally, egg chorion in M. harmsworthi was considered almost smooth and without any traces of areolation, however here we report many misunderstandings that accumulated across decades and we show that, in fact, the chorion in this species exhibits a partially developed areolation. We present an integrative (morphological, morphometric and molecular) diagnosis of the nominal taxon and we confirm that it differs from other species of the harmsworthi group by morphological characters of both animals and eggs. Additionally, we describe two new species of the genus Mesobiotus: M. skorackii sp. nov. from the Kyrgyz Republic (using classical morphological description) and M. occultatus sp. nov. from Svalbard Archipelago (by means of integrative taxonomy). Finally, we also provide the first genetic phylogeny of the genus Mesobiotus based on COI sequences which, together with molecular species delimitation, independently confirms the validity of the analysed taxa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arctic Regions
  • Base Sequence
  • Chorion / anatomy & histology
  • DNA / genetics
  • Ecosystem
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Microscopy, Phase-Contrast
  • Ovum / ultrastructure
  • Phylogeny
  • Species Specificity
  • Svalbard
  • Tardigrada / anatomy & histology
  • Tardigrada / classification*
  • Tardigrada / genetics

Substances

  • DNA

Grants and funding

Sampling in Svalbard in 2013 was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education via the Diamond Grant programme (grant no. DIA 2011035241 to KZ). The study was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education via the Iuventus Plus programme (grant no. IP2014 017973 to ŁK and ŁM).