Abstract
Five species of Batillipes Richters, 1909 were collected from subtidal sediments of the Portuguese coast. Two of them, B. algharbensis sp. nov. and B. lusitanus sp. nov., are new to science. Batillipes algharbensis sp. nov. differs from all the other Batillipes species in having the middle toes 3 on the fourth feet longer than middle toes 4 and by the presence of rounded lateral body projections between legs III and IV. Batillipes lusitanus sp. nov. has the middle toes of the fourth feet equal in length, but it exhibits a dorsal cuticular ornamentation, constituted by large pillars, similar to the cuticle of B. adriaticus Grimaldi de Zio, Morone De Lucia, D’Addabbo Gallo & Grimaldi, 1979 and B. roscoffensis Kristensen, 1978. However, contrary to B. adriaticus, the caudal apparatus of B. lusitanus sp. nov. is a roundish cuticular expansion and B. roscoffensis lacks caudal apparatus. Batillipes adriaticus and B. phreaticus Renaud-Debyser, 1959 are new records for Portugal. Based on the examination of specimens of B. phreaticus collected at the Portuguese coast and their comparison with type material of this species and also of B. littoralis Renaud-Debyser, 1959, the toe arrangement patterns in species of Batillipes are clarified and a new identification key to species of this genus is provided.
Highlights
The interstitial genus Batillipes, from the monogeneric family Batilllipedidae Ramazzotti, 1962, was erected by Richters (1909) with the description of B. mirus Richters, 1909
Fourteen marine tardigrade species are recorded from the Portuguese coast, of which 7 belong to the genus Batillipes: B. adriaticus, B. algharbensis sp. nov., B. lusitanus sp. nov., B. minius, B. pennaki, B. phreaticus and B. tubernatis
Batillipes phreaticus and B. tubernatis are typical of the NE Atlantic, while B. pennaki is considered cosmopolitan (Kaczmarek et al 2015)
Summary
The interstitial genus Batillipes, from the monogeneric family Batilllipedidae Ramazzotti, 1962, was erected by Richters (1909) with the description of B. mirus Richters, 1909. Rubal et al (2016, 2017) added seven new records to the marine Portuguese tardigrade fauna, three of which belong to the genus Batillipes (B. minius Rubal, Veiga, Fontoura & Sousa-Pinto, 2017, B. pennaki Marcus, 1946 and B. tubernatis Pollock, 1971) the only Portuguese record of B. similis was questioned This scenario justifies the urgent need for species inventories on this previously neglected region, aiming at contributing to a deeper knowledge of the Portuguese marine fauna and at understanding the peculiarities of the tardigrade biogeography
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