Tardigrades of North Carolina
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View PDFItaquasconidae Members: 33 NC Records

Adropion scoticum scoticum (Murray, 1905) - No Common Name


Taxonomy
Class: EutardigradaOrder: Parachela Family: ItaquasconidaeSubfamily: Itaquasconinae Checklist Number: 1120.0 Synonym: Dipahscon scoticum scoticum, Diphascon scoticum (see Bartels et al. 2021), Diphascon crozetense Richters, 1907, Hypsibius D. scoticus, Marcus 1936
Taxonomic Comments: Morphologically indistinguishable from species first described in Lapland, Sweden. No molecular evidence available for further comparisons. Two additional subspecies have been described one also in Sweden, another in China. New family designation based on Tumanov & Tsvetkova (2023).
Species Notes: Terrestrial. Broadly distributed in USA, possibly cosmopolitan.
Identification
Online resources:Online Photographs: Google, GBIF                                                                                 
Species Description: Length up to 462 µm, however in general 215-370 µm. Body very slender, not narrowing anteriorly, eye spots absent, colorless (however in Scandinavian examples Maucci has sometimes observed a brownish color), cuticle smooth. The buccal tube is narrow, but less than in other species (internal diameter up to 2.7 µm, equal to about 2.6% of the total length of the tube); there is no “drop” formation; the pharyngeal tube is about as long as the pharynx. This latter is very elongated (about two times longer than wide), sometimes rather pear-shaped. There are small apophyses, and three macroplacoids in the shape of slender elongated rods of increasing length or else the first and the second equal and the third longer, less frequently all three of equal length. Present are microplacoids and septula (Cuenot has described individuals with microplacoid, but lacking septula). On the first three of legs exists cuticular bars. The two doubleclaws of each leg are very different from each other in size, but not in shape: the common basal part expanded, stumpy with smooth margin, sometimes laterally prolonged in the shape of a spine, the principal branch is long slender, with accessory points.
- Ramazzotti & Maucci 1983

Body Length: Up to 462 microns.
Key Characters: Three long macroplacoids, 1 microplacoid, 1 septulum, buccal tube "drop" obvious. In Diphascon higginsi the macroplacoids are shorter and the "drop" is very small.
Key Character Images
ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of key characters or by DNA analysis.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Leaf litter, soil, and rarely in moss and lichen.
Abundance: In Nelson's 1975 Roan Mt inventory of moss, rare. In Bartels' GSMNP inventory (multiple habitat types), uncommon, making up 0.77% of terrestrial specimens. In Vecchi et al 2021 it was a dominant species in leaf litter.
Diet: Microbivore, likely feeding on bacteria, fungi and detritus.
Reproduction: Smooth eggs laid in shed exuvium.
Observation Methods: Phase contrast and differential interference contrast microscopy.
Wikipedia

 Photo Gallery for Adropion scoticum scoticum - No common name

Photos: 4

Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Drawing of habitus from Ramazzotti & Maucci 1982		Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Buccal apparatus, and Claws I, DIC.		Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Claws IV, Phase