Tardigrades of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
 Family:
Order:
Class:
« »
View PDFItaquasconidae Members: 86 NC Records

Astatumen trinacriae (Arcidiacono, 1962) - No Common Name


Taxonomy
Class: EutardigradaOrder: Parachela Family: ItaquasconidaeSubfamily: Itaquasconinae Checklist Number: 1140.0 Synonym: Itaquascon ramazzottii Iharos, 1966,
Taxonomic Comments: Morphologically indistinguishable from species originally described in Italy. No DNA analysis for further comparison. Family designation follows Tumanov & Tsvetkova (2023).
Species Notes: Terrestrial. Apparently cosmopolitan distribution. Broadly distributed in USA.
Identification
Online resources:Online Photographs: Google, GBIF                                                                                 
Species Description: Body very slender with the anterior part thinning. Cuticle smooth, eyes absent. The buccal tube is clearly differentiated into an anterior rigid part (which represents 12-14% of the entire tube) and a flexible part whose walls are provided with a spiral pattern clearly visible in the terminal end, but present along all the tube, even though difficult to observe. The tube is 35 to 50 microns long, with a width of 3 to 4.6. Lacking the stylet supports. The salivary glands have somewhat variable length: in general not reaching the caudal end of the pharynx, but at times abundantly surpasses it. The pharynx is very elongated, without apophyses or placoids, and has a cuticular thickening along the lumen. The claws are very different on each leg. The principal branch of the external claws is very long, enlarged near its insertion, then very slender and curved. The internal claws are much more massive, with principal branch more robust and shorter; either on the internal claws, or on the external, the principal branch is provided with accessory points. On the second or on the third pair of legs there is a cuticular bar about 7 microns long, which originates near the base of the internal claws. However Maucci has observed a population, referable as As. trinacriae, from Carso Triestino, in which two thirds of the individuals were devoid of such bar.
-Ramazzotti & Maucci 1983
Body Length: Up to 450 microns.
Key Characters: Buccal tube short, wide and fully annulated, placoids thin and undivided, no stylet supports.
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: Predominantly soil/leaf litter, but also frequently found in tree moss, and less commonly in lichen.
Abundance: Common, making up 1.75% of terrestrial specimens collected in Bartels' Smokies inventory. Common in Nelson's Roan Mt. inventory.
Diet: Probable bacteriorphore/detritivore.
Reproduction: Eggs smooth, laid in shed exuvium.
Observation Methods: DIC and PC microscopy.
Wikipedia

 Photo Gallery for Astatumen trinacriae - No common name

Photos: 3

Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus drawing from Ramazzotti & Maucci 1982		Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Claw drawing from Ramazzotti & Maucci 1982
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: