Isohypsibius nodosus ( Murray, 1907a )

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, 2017, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa, Zootaxa 4284 (1), pp. 1-74 : 37-38

104. Isohypsibius nodosus ( Murray, 1907a) [T]

M. nodosus sp. n. ( Murray 1907a)

Hypsibius (Isohypsibius) nodosus (Murray) . ( Pardi 1941)

Terra typica : Republic of South Africa (Africa)

Ethiopia:

• 04°03′N, 38°19′E; 1,700 m asl: Oromia Region, Mēga, moss ( Neckera sp.) on tree ( Juniperus procera), former English residence, moss on tree ( Juniperus procera) (2 samples). Pardi (1941)

Kenya:

• 00°01′S, 37°54′E: Undefined locality, British East Africa [ Kenya], moss. Murray (1913)

Republic of South Africa:

• 25°45′S, 28°11′E; 1,300 m asl: Gauteng Province, Pretoria , moss. Murray (1913)

• 29°44′S, 22°44′E: Type Locality: Undefined locality, Cape Colony [Cape Province]. Murray (1907a)

Uganda:

• 01°22′N, 32°17′E: Undefined locality, moss. Murray (1913)

Record numbers. Ethiopia: 2, Kenya: 1, Republic of South Africa: 2, Uganda: 1; total: 6.

Remarks. Reported from a limited number of pan-global sites ( McInnes 1994), indicative of a possible species complex. Interestingly, Murray (1913) (referring to the cuticle) specified for the specimens from Kenya, “The knobs are very prominent, yet smaller than in the type. In the type they are so large that they occupy the whole surface of the segments and meet at their bases. These are only about half the diameter, and are separated at their bases.” Pardi (1941) also indicated smaller separated nodules. Further study of type material is required to clarify the identity of species attributed to this taxon.