New species of Echinoderes (Kinorhyncha: Cyclorhagida) from Spitsbergen, with additional information about known Arctic species

ABSTRACT

The kinorhynch fauna in two Arctic fjords at Spitsbergen was explored and eight species of Echinoderes were recorded, of which three are new to science and described herein. Echinoderes daenerysae sp. nov. is recognized by middorsal spines on segments 6 and 8 only, lateroventral spines on segments 6–9, laterodorsal and ventrolateral tubes on segment 2, lateroventral tubes on segment 5, lateral accessory tubes on segment 8, laterodorsal tubes on segment 9 and small laterodorsal tubes on segment 10. Echinoderes rhaegali sp. nov. has middorsal spines on segments 4, 6 and 8, lateroventral spines on segments 6–9, sublateral and ventrolateral tubes on segment 2, lateroventral tubes on segment 5, lateral accessory tubes on segment 8 and laterodorsal tubes on segment 10 in males. Echinoderes drogoni sp. nov. has middorsal spines on segments 4–8, lateroventral spines on segments 6–9, lateral accessory tubes on segment 5, glandular cell outlets type 2 in subdorsal, laterodorsal, sublateral and ventromedial positions on segments 2, in midlateral positions on segment 5, in sublateral positions on segment 8 and in subdorsal positions on segment 10; segment 11 has divided tergal plates. Moreover, types of other Arctic Echinoderes, including E. angustus, E. aquilonius, E. eximus, E. peterseni, E. svetlanae and E. tubilak, were re-examined and new information on glandular cell outlets type 2 is provided. Our results suggest that Arctic Echinoderes species have a circum-Artic distribution. Morphological analysis indicates that the occurrence of tubes may show intraspecific variation.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CBE29FE8-9233-4E3C-9757-FF9576B06C74

SUBJECT EDITOR:

• Danny Eibye-Jacobsen

KEYWORDS:

• Echinoderidae
• kinorhynchs
• meiofauna
• taxonomy

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr A. Adrianov for donating specimens of Echinoderes svetlanae for the study, and Jon Norenburg and Kathryn Ahlfeld, Smithsonian Institution, for arranging the loan of Echinoderes arlis. Klaudia Gregorczyk (IOPAN) is greatly acknowledged for help with meiofauna sorting.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was completed thanks to funding provided by the National Science Centre, Poland (grant number 2012/05/B/ST10/01908). It also received support from the funds of the Leading National Research Centre (KNOW) received by the Centre for Polar Studies for the period 2014–2018. KG was supported by the SYNTHESYS Project (www.synthesys.info/), which is financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under FP7, SYNTHESYS (grant number DK-TAF-5319). The current position of the first author is supported by a FUGA Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Science Centre, Poland (grant number 2016/20/S/NZ8/00432). Dr María Herranz and two anonymous reviewers provided comments, which have greatly improved the quality of this paper.