Otostephanos (Rotifera, Bdelloidea, Habrotrochidae) with the description of two new species

Abstract

We present a morphological feature-based key for the genus Otostephanos and describe two new species, O. jolantae sp. nov. and O. ukrainicus sp. nov. For O. jolantae sp. nov. we analysed the intraspecific morphological variability and provided the barcodes of mtCOX1 mitochondrial gene. Further, we developed a method to standardize measurements for the Philodina type of corona and trophi measurements of bdelloids. Otostephanos jolantae sp. nov. is a large rotifer with a smooth cuticle and bright red-orange gut; it can be distinguished from the known species by a high triangular upper lip with a tongue-like tip not divided into lobes, spade-shaped swollen rump, and 6/6 dental formula. It is found in Sphagnum collected in Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Otostephanos ukrainicus sp. nov. has a long body covered with coarse-grained cuticle on the last two neck segments, trunk and rump; it is distinguished by long narrow head and neck, saccular-like swollen trunk, spade-like rump, and a tiny foot. Unlike the other species of this genus, it has band-like upper lip with two narrow, sharp protrusions separated by an interspace, unusually small spurs and trophi with 5/5 major teeth. Thus far, it is only found in Ukraine, in pine and oak forest litter. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9FC484E3-67F5-43A9-8478-A7BE14FBE5E33

Key words:

• barcoding
• bdelloid ecology
• bdelloid taxonomy
• biodiversity
• DNA taxonomy
• morphometry

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr V.M. Virchenko (Kholodnyy Institute of Botany NASU) for providing sphagnum samples collected in Ukraine. We acknowledge Prof. Jolanta Ejsmont-Karabin, the head of Hydrobiological Station PAS and the manager of the project ‘Taxonomy and ecology of bdelloid rotifers (Rotifera, Bdelloidea) in the territory of Poland’ for the resources granted to collect and process the material and the opportunity of publishing a new species description; we also thank Prof. I. Bielańska-Grajner for her help in carrying out the project. Drs M. Holyńska, Ch.D. Jersabek, D. Fontaneto, M. Devetter and Prof. L. Kutikova are gratefully acknowledged for suggestions and providing some literature sources, especially for providing copies of the older literature on Bdelloidea. We thank Dr R. Vargovich for their comments and suggestions on the manuscript.

Associate Editor: Elliot Shubert

Additional information

Funding

The research in Poland was performed under the grants No. N304 0341 33 ‘Taksonomia i ekologia wrotków (Rotifera) z rzędu pijawczaków (Bdelloidea) na terenie Polski’ and INTAS Young Scientist Fellowship Grant Ref. Nr 06-1000014-5639. The funding for SEM and DNA sequencing came from the grant KJB600450903 of Grant Agency AS ČR.