First record for the Palearctic region of a rare rotifer from the Ptygura elsteri group (Rotifera: Monogononta: Flosculariaceae: Flosculariidae) with description and biogeography of a new species: Ptygura innominata n. sp.

Vicente Franch

doi:10.21426/b636052746

Abstract

Here, I describe a new rotifer species within the Ptygura elsteri group collected from Mallorca, Spain (Palearctic). Previously reported from the Nearctic, this form possesses anatomical and ecological characteristics that indicate it to be a separate species. While other morphotypes assigned to the P. elsteri group have cervical hooks, the hooks on this morphotype are clearly different. In this report, I discuss previously published observations of this form, describe its anatomical and ecological details, and discuss its taxonomic position within the genus Ptygura. The name for this new species is Ptygura innominata n. sp.

Highlights

Sessile rotifers are frequently overlooked in the most common studies of rotifers because aquatic plants and other surfaces are not examined (Wallace et al 2006)
Ptygura elsteri belongs to a group of species all of which possess cervical hooks
The specimens were found in an old irrigation pond, currently out of use, located in an area known as S’Estret next to the Torrent de Valldemossa, on the island of Mallorca (Spain) (WGS84 reference system: 39o 41’ 27.504” N, 2o 38’ 10.320” E; 297 m asl) (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

Sessile rotifers (superorder Gnesiotrocha) are frequently overlooked in the most common studies of rotifers because aquatic plants and other surfaces are not examined (Wallace et al 2006). For this reason, Meksuwan et al (2011) posited that their diversity and biogeography are underestimated. Ptygura elsteri belongs to a group of species all of which possess cervical hooks This group includes Ptygura melicerta Ehrenberg, 1832, Ptygura mucicola (Kellicott, 1888), Ptygura furcillata, Ptygura kostei José de Paggi, 1996, and Ptygura ctenoida Koste & Tobias, 1990. The structure of the cervical hooks in P. elsteri, P. furcillata, and P. kostei is very characteristic, being described as antlerlike

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