Tardigrades of North Carolina
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View PDFItaquasconidae Members: 3 NC Records

Platicrista horribilis Kaczmarek & Michalczyk, 2003 - No Common Name


Habitus, DIC
Taxonomy
Class: EutardigradaOrder: Parachela Family: ItaquasconidaeSubfamily: Itaquasconinae Checklist Number: 1440.0
Taxonomic Comments: Morphologically indistinguishable from species originally described in Mongolia. Records for this species exist in GenBank, but there is no molecular data for the NC population for further comparison. Family designation follows Tumanov & Tsvetkova (2023).
Species Notes: Terrestrial. Only reported from GSMNP in USA.
Identification
Online resources:Online Photographs: Google, GBIF                                                                                 
Species Description: Holotype: Total body length 720 µm. Body white or transparent. Cuticle smooth. Eyes absent. Buccopharyngeal tube 76 µm long and 3 µm wide. Apophyses for insertion of stylet muscles very wide, with a flat ridge. Drop-like thickening between buccal and pharyngeal tube absent. Buccal tube 39 µm long. Pharyngeal tube with spiral thickening 37 µm long, ending (on dorsal or ventral view) with semilunar structures (4 µm long). In pharynx, between end of pharyngeal tube and the first macroplacoid two very slender cuticular bars directed forward (5 µm long). Stylet supports inserted 1 µm above upper limit of pharyngeal tube. Pharyngeal bulb pear-shaped, 77 µm long and 37 µm wide, containing two slender, lancet-shaped macroplacoids with irregularly undulated edges. First macroplacoid 14 µm, second 33 µm long; both 1 µm wide. Macroplacoid row 48 µm long. Septulae and microplacoid absent. Claws of Hypsibius-type; on I pair of legs: external (primary branch: 30 µm, secondary: 13 µm), internal (pb.: 17 µm, sb.: 10 µm); II: ext. (pb.: 33 µm, sb.: 15 µm), int. (pb.: 20 µm, sb.: 12 µm); III: ext. (pb.: 34 µm, sb.: 14 µm), int. (pb.: 22 µm, sb.: 12 µm); VI: ext. (pb.: 34 µm, sb.: 16 µm), int. (pb.: 23 µm, sb.: 14 µm). Primary branches of internal and external claws with two accessory points. On IV pair of legs lunules with fine teeth. Cuticular bars on legs absent. Eggs unknown.
-Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2003
Body Length: 343-720 microns.
Key Characters: The genus Platicrista is characterized by a buccal tube that is annulated in the caudal half only, stylet supports inserting at the beginning of the annulations, and two long thin macroplacoids. In this species, claw IV with dentate lunules.
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: Tree moss and lichen.
Abundance: Very rare. This species makes up 0.05% of terrestrial specimens collected in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Bartels' inventory.
Diet: Unknown.
Reproduction: Smooth eggs deposited in exuvium.
Observation Methods: PC and DIC.
Wikipedia

 Photo Gallery for Platicrista horribilis - No common name

Photos: 6

Recorded by: Bartels on 2002-11-23
Haywood Co.
Comment: Buccal apparatus, Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2003		Recorded by: Bartels on 2002-11-23
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus, DIC
Recorded by: Bartels on 2002-11-23
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus, PC		Recorded by: Bartels on 2002-11-23
Haywood Co.
Comment: Buccal appartus, PC
Recorded by: Bartels on 2002-11-23
Haywood Co.
Comment: Claw IV, PC		Recorded by: Bartels on 2002-11-23
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus drawing, Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2003