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Issue: Vol. 4072 No. 5: 4 Feb. 2016
Type: Article
Published: 2016-02-04
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4072.5.3
Page range: 559–568
Abstract views: 43
PDF downloaded: 37

Tardigrades of the Tree Canopy: Milnesium swansoni sp. nov. (Eutardigrada: Apochela: Milnesiidae) a new species from Kansas, U.S.A.

Department of Biology, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR 97202
Department of Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045
Department of Biology, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS 66006
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118
Tardigrada Four peribuccal lamellae Thorpe morphometry Canopy diversity

Abstract

Milnesium swansoni sp. nov. is a new species of Eutardigrada described from the tree canopy in eastern Kansas, USA. This species within the order Apochela, family Milnesiidae, genus Milnesium is distinguished by its smooth cuticle, narrow buccal tube, four peribuccal lamellae, primary claws without accessory points, and a secondary claw configuration of [3-3]-[3-3]. The buccal tube appears to be only half the width of the nominal species Milnesium tardigradum for animals of similar body length. The species adds to the available data for the phylum, and raises questions concerning species distribution.

 

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