Platicrista horribilis Kaczmarek & Michalczyk, 2003, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kaczmarek
name: Michalczyk
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2003
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Tardigrada
Eutardigrada
Parachela
Hypsibiidae
Platicrista
Platicrista horribilis

description: Platicrista horribilis sp. nov.
(Figs 1­5)
Description
Holotype: Total body length 720 m (Fig. 1). Body white or transparent. Cuticle smooth. Eyes absent. Buccopharyngeal tube 76 m long and 3 m wide. Apophyses for insertion of stylet muscles very wide, with a flat ridge. Drop­like thickening between buccal and pharyngeal tube absent. Buccal tube 39 m long. Pharyngeal tube with spiral thickening 37 m long, ending (on dorsal or ventral view) with semilunar structures (4 m long). In pharynx, between end of pharyngeal tube and the first macroplacoid two very slender cuticular bars directed forward (5 m long). Stylet supports inserted 1 m above upper limit of pharyngeal tube. Pharyngeal bulb pear­shaped, 77 m long and 37 m wide, containing two slender, lancet­shaped macroplacoids with irregularly undulated edges. First macroplacoid 14 m, second 33 m long; both 1 m wide. Macroplacoid row 48 m long. Septulae and microplacoid absent (Figs 2­3). Claws of Hypsibius ­ type; on I pair of legs: external (primary branch: 30 m, secondary: 13 m), internal (pb.: 17 m, sb.: 10 m); II: ext. (pb.: 33 m, sb.: 15 m), int. (pb.: 20 m, sb.: 12 m); III: ext. (pb.: 34 m, sb.: 14 m), int. (pb.: 22 m, sb.: 12 m); VI: ext. (pb.: 34 m, sb.: 16 m), int. (pb.: 23 m, sb.: 14 m). Primary branches of internal and external claws with two accessory points. On IV pair of legs lunules with fine teeth. Cuticular bars on legs absent (Figs 4­5). Eggs unknown.
Measurements of some structures of holotype and two paratypes are shown in Tab. 1.
Remarks
There is visible fine granulation on IV pair of legs in paratype 1. Very slender cuticular bars are orientated backwards in paratype 1 (probably caused by preparation); in paratype 2 only one of these structures is visible. In some cases the teeth on lunules may resemble knobs.
Type locality
Northern Mongolia; Archangaj Ajmag, Tehijn Cagan Nuur National Park; Tarbagataj Mts.; 2700 m; mosses from rocks; VII 2000; leg. oe. Kaczmarek.
CHARACTER HOLOTYPE PARATYPE 1 PARATYPE 2 AVERAGE CHARACTER HOLOTYPE PARATYPE 1 PARATYPE 2 AVERAGE Material examined
Holotype is preserved at the Zoological Museum of Jagiellonian University, ul. Ingardena 6, 30­060 Kraków, Poland; paratype 1 is preserved at the Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, A. Mickiewicz University, Poznañ; paratype 2 is preserved in the collection of oe. Michalczyk (Jagiellonian University).
Differential diagnosis
Platicrista horribilis is similar to P. affine (Mihelcic, 1951) and P. angustata (Murray, 1905) however, it is easily distinguishable by the presence of teeth on the lunules of the IV pair of legs (it was not mentioned in the description by Ramazzotti & Maucci (1983), however, the dilated bases are smooth in the drawings).
The new species differs from P. itaquasconoide (Durante & Maucci, 1975) by lacking the microplacoid, small basal spur of the claw on the IV pair of legs and by having a narrower buccal tube (8 m in P. itaquasconoide).
Platicrista horribilis differs from P. cheleusis Kathman, 1990 by lacking the polygonal pattern on cuticle and cuticular bars on legs.
description: Published as part of Kaczmarek & Michalczyk, 2003, Platicrista horribilis, a new species of Tardigrada (Eutardigrada: Hypsibiidae) from Mongolia, pp. 1-8 in Zootaxa 132 on pages 2-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.156806