Aspidiophorus pleustonicus Kisielewski, 1991

Garraffoni, Andre R. S., Araujo, Thiago Q., Lourenco, Anete P. & Balsamo, Maria, 2010, New data on freshwater psammic Gastrotricha from Brazil, ZooKeys 60, pp. 1-12 : 3-4

Aspidiophorus pleustonicus Kisielewski, 1991 cf. Fig. 1Table 1

Aspidiophorus pleustonicus - Kisielewski (1991: 79, Figs 85-86, Tab. 36); Balsamo et al. (2009: 08, appendix 1).

Material.

Soberbo: 2 specimens, Água limpa: 2 specimens, Preto River: 2 specimens, Gouveia: 2 specimens.

Description.

The description is based on a single adult specimen, 212.5 μm in total length. Head with oval edge and body long and wide. Body medium-sized, with head and neck weakly defined, but trunk and caudal base clearly distinct. Head with slightly five lobes and two pairs of ciliary tufts. Hypostomion weakly developed as a fine transverse furrow appearing as a thin line. Pharynx 56.25 μm in length from the posterior edge of the mouth to the pharyngo-intestinal junction, that lies at U26. Alternating columns of pedunculated, unkeeled, elongate scales along the body.

Remarks.

The genus Aspidiophorus counts 30 species in the world with 9 marine species and 21 freshwater ( Balsamo et al. 2009) and in Brazil there are five freshwater species ( Kisielewski 1991) and three marine ( Todaro and Rocha 2004, 2005). Our specimens resemble Aspidiophorus pleustonicus Kisielewski, 1991 due to the long body, five-lobed head and shape of pedunculated scales. However, they can be distinguished from Aspidiophorus pleustonicus , from the size of the mouth, larger than in the original description (Table 1), and the absence of the cuticular rods internal to the pharynx.

Distribution.

Brazil: Diamantina, Gouveia (Minas Gerais State); São Paulo ( São Paulo State).