Aspidiophorus cf. oculifer

Kånneby, Tobias, 2011, New species and new records of freshwater Chaetonotida (Gastrotricha) from Sweden, Zootaxa 3115, pp. 29-55 : 33-34

Aspidiophorus cf. oculifer

Localities. Sphagnum spp. Bog at Highway E10, Lapland (N 68º 26’02’’; E 18º 15’01’’).

Material. 1 specimen. TL, 110 µm; FL, 12 µm; AL, 6 µm; PhL, 27–28 µm; MD, 3–4 µm; DC, 19–20; DR, 36– 38; VC, NA; TS, 3– 4 x 3–4 µm; VTS, 9–10 x NA µm; PL, 0.5–1 µm.

The specimen of Aspidiophorus cf. oculifer agrees well with the description of A. oculifer above and data from the literature. However, the Swedish specimen disagrees with the description of A. oculifer in that it lacks a pair of ocellar granules. The lack of ocellar granules alone does not justify describing A. cf. oculifer as a new species. Ocellar granules have been reported to be either present or absent in different populations of the same species (e. g. Heterolepidoderma ocellatum ) ( Schwank 1990; Fregni et al. 1998).