Aquatic Tardigrades of North Carolina with a New North American Record of a Lotic Tardigrade, Dactylobiotus haplonyx Maucci, 1980 (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae)
We provide a comprehensive list of all records of freshwater aquatic tardigrades from North Carolina. In addition, 24 samples of medium and coarse sand were taken from the Davidson River, Transylvania County, NC near the Bobby N. Setzer State Fish Hatchery in the Pisgah National Forest on April 26 and May 3, 2016. Approximately 1900 interstitial microinvertebrates were found with nematodes, oligochaetes, and tardigrades being the most abundant. Tardigrades were individually mounted on slides and identified to species when possible. Ten species were identified among the 344 tardigrades isolated. Of these, two were “accidentals” that normally occur in terrestrial habitats, and seven were previously known from North Carolina. Dactylobiotus haplonyx was a new North American record. This is a rare species, and we compare our specimens with previously published accounts.Abstract
Habitus of Dactylobiotus haplonyx specimen from Davidson River, NC (DIC). Scale bar = 50 µm.
Posterior section of specimen of Dactylobiotus haplonyx from Davidson River, NC (PhC). Arrow shows finely wrinkled cuticle. Wrinkling can also be seen as small bumps along the outer edge of the cuticle (see asterisk). Scale bar = 15 µm.
Claws of specimen from Davidson River, NC (DIC). A. Leg III. B. Leg IV. ap = accessory points, pb = primary branch, sb = secondary branch, and cb = cuticular bar between internal and external claws. Scale bars = 5 mm.
Buccal apparatus of specimen from Davidson River, NC (DIC). mu = mucrones, bt = buccal tube, ss = stylet supports, vl = ventral lamina, pl = placoids, and ph = pharynx. Scale bar = 5 µm.
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