Abstract
Abstract: Serra do Japi, located in the southeast of São Paulo State, is considered a priority area for conservation, as it houses original Atlantic Forest cover remains. Despite the significant number of studies about vertebrates and invertebrates that were carried out in this region, the meiofauna biodiversity is completely unknown. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate for the first time freshwater Gastrotricha and limnoterrestrial Tardigrada in Serra do Japi Biological Reserve. Samples of sediments, periphyton and floating vegetation in reservoirs and natural lagoons, and mosses growing on native and non-native tree trunks were collected in May 2019. At least five gastrotrichs morphotypes were identified and three of them were formally described: Chaetonotus acanthocephalus, C. dadayi (first record in Brazil), and Heterolepidoderma mariae (first record outside the type locality). In regards to tardigrades, twelve morphotypes were identified and four of them were formally described: Pseudechiniscus juanitae, Minibiotus cf. acontistus, Echiniscus dreyfusi and Itaquascon umbellinae (last two species reported for the first time outside the type locality). This study reinforces that meiofaunal diversity and distribution have been underestimated, even in one of the five largest hotspots in the world.
Highlights
Meiofauna can be defined as an assembly of freshwater and marine organisms that pass through a coarse sieve of 500 μm and are retained by a finer sieve of 44 μm and do not have close phylogenetic relationships among them (Giere 2009)
This study aims to contribute to this knowledge by presenting the first records of gastrotrichs and tardigrades at the Biological Reserve of Fundação Serra do Japi, an extensive area of Atlantic Forest located in São Paulo State
Remarks: Von Daday (1905) identified specimens found on the border between Paraguay and Brazil, in Estia Postillon, as Chaetonotus similis Zelinka, 1889
Summary
Meiofauna can be defined as an assembly of freshwater and marine organisms that pass through a coarse sieve of 500 μm and are retained by a finer sieve of 44 μm and do not have close phylogenetic relationships among them (Giere 2009). These animals can be classified as permanent, having an entire life as small organisms, or temporary, having one or more stages of the life cycle with ‘meiofaunal’ body size (Higgins & Thiel 1988). The existence of a third class, Apotardigrada (freshwater and limnoterrestrial) has been previously discussed (Guil et al 2019, Morek et al 2020)
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