Diphascon pingue ( Marcus, 1936 ), 2017

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, 2017, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa, Zootaxa 4284 (1), pp. 1-74 : 23

50. Diphascon pingue ( Marcus, 1936) sensu lato [T]

Diphascon pingue ( Marcus 1936) (Binda et al. 2001)

Terra typica : Germany (Europe)

Democratic Republic of Congo:

• 01°10′S, 28°28′E; 1,000 m asl: North Kivu Province, outskirts of Mohanga, moss ( Entodon sp.). Binda et al. (2001)

Tanzania:

• 03°12′S, 37°31′E; ca. 2,500 m asl: Kilimanjaro Region, Kilimanjaro National Park, Maranda [Mandara] trail, tree line, benthos sample from river . Van Rompu et al. (1991a)

Tunisia:

• 36°43'45''N, 08°44'11''E; 373 m asl: Jendouba Governorate, Beni M'tir, forest, moss on soil. Gąsiorek et al. (2017)

Record numbers. Democratic Republic of Congo: 1, Tanzania: 1, Tunisia: 1; total: 3.

Remarks. The pingue group is a complex of similar species ( Pilato & Binda 1998, 1999, see Fontoura & Pilato (2007) for diagnostic key). Diphascon pingue sensu lato was believed to be cosmopolitan ( McInnes 1994a), but the recent revision suggests the nominal species is probably Holarctic ( Pilato & Binda 1998, 1999). Some of the African reports could be for Diphascon pingue sensu stricto; however, other species from pingue group, e.g. D. zaniewi from the Republic of South Africa, have been described from the region.