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Water Bears from the Caribbean Island of Antigua, with the Description of a New Macrobiotus Species (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae)

Harry A. Meyer1,*, Juliana G. Hinton1, W. Logan Gladne1, and Mary C. Klumpp1

1Department of Biology, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA 70609, USA. *Corresponding author.

Caribbean Naturalist, No. 39 (2017)

Abstract
Tardigrada is a phylum of microscopic animals commonly found in mosses, lichens, leaf litter, and freshwater. The tardigrades of many of the islands of the Caribbean and countries bordering the region are virtually or entirely unknown. The tardigrade fauna of Antigua, an island in the West Indies, has not been studied. We collected leaf litter and moss from 2 sites and extracted tardigrades from the samples. Six species were found: Milnesium katarzynae, Hypsibius cf. convergens, Mesobiotus harmsworthi, Minibiotus sp. from the Minibiotus intermedius species complex, Paramacrobiotus sp. from the Paramacrobiotus areolatus species complex, Paramacrobiotus sp. from the P. richtersi species complex, and a new species of Macrobiotus. This is the first record of Milnesium katarzynae from the Caribbean. The new species, Macrobiotus deceptor n. sp., is most similar to Macrobiotus nelsonae and M. pallarii. Adults differ from both in lacking eyes or cuticular pores, and from M. nelsonae in having a more anterior insertion of the stylet supports and proportionally larger claws. Eggs of the new species differ from those of both M. nelsonae and M. pallarii in the structure of processes, and from those of M. pallarii in having 2 instead of 1 row of areoles surrounding each egg process.

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