Tardigrades of North Carolina
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View PDFEchiniscidae Members: 229 NC Records

Claxtonia maucci (Ramazzotti, 1956) - No Common Name



Habitus, DIC
Taxonomy
Class: HeterotardigradaOrder: Echiniscoidea Family: Echiniscidae Checklist Number: 1990.0 Synonym: Echiniscus maucci, Echiniscus mosaicus (see Bartels et al. 2021)
Taxonomic Comments: Transferred from Echiniscus by Gasiorek et al. 2019. DNA analysis by Gasiorek et al. 2019 confirmed species identity and included specimens from Roan Mountain, TN.
Species Notes: Terrestrial. North American endemic.
Identification
Online resources:Online Photographs: Google, GBIF                                                                                 
Species Description: Reddish color; the sculpture is a very coarse and irregular granulation, finer in the anterior part of the paired plates, where it is also partially lacking: it is also absent on a good part of the cephalic plate, with exclusion of a small rostral zone. The scapular plate possess very pronounced and protruding posterior external angles; the median plate 3 is absent; the terminal is clearly facetted and bears the usual notches. Cephalic appendices without special peculiarity: cephalic papilla large and elongated; lateral cirri A fairly long (about 9O microns in an individual of 19O microns), but much shorter than in E. wendti, clava well developed. Laterally there are two pair of characteristic cuticular projections, in hemispherical shape or slightly conical, positioned respectively between the first and second paired plates, and between the paired plate and the terminal (they are therefore approximately from appendices C and D). These typical lateral projections -- which sometimes seem turned up at the external posterior angles of the paired plates -- may be more or less developed; Fig. 217 shows an individual mounted in Faure's solution, where it at once has a slight swelling: but they are however always very visible, even in the living animal, and are constantly present in the numerous individuals observed. There are no other lateral or dorsal appendices. Internal claws of the fourth pair of legs with extremely small sharp spurs, similar to spines, positioned about a quarter of the length of the claws on the 4th pair of legs -- which bears the usual papilla and dentate collar -- and yet nearer to the base of the first three pair; the dentate collar is composed of 7-12 irregular teeth, of different size between them, often distant to the bases; the legs of the first pair have a small triangular spine. The species is easily recognized by the two pair of typical lateral projections and by the external posterior angles of the scapular plate strongly accentuated.
-Ramazzotti & Maucci 1983
Body Length: 250 microns maxiumum.
Key Characters: Reddish body in fresh specimens, lateral projections forming unique pouch-like structures between plates III-IV, and IV-V, otherwise no cuticular appendages other than cephallic cirri, bold cuticular pattern with large multiangular granules and massive striae. Compare to Barbaria danieli.
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 lichen and tree moss. Rarely in rock lichen and rock moss.
Abundance: Common. This species makes up 2.35% of terrestrial specimens in Bartels' Smokies inventory. Also common at Roan Mountain (Nelson l975).
Diet: Herbivorous, algae
Reproduction: Smooth eggs laid in shed exuvium.
Observation Methods: PC, DIC, and Fluorescence Microsocpy.
Wikipedia

 Photo Gallery for Claxtonia maucci - No common name

Photos: 6

Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus, DIC
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Claws II and III
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Dorsal cuticular patterning, DIC
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus drawing (Ramazzotti & Maucci 1983)
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Habitus, DIC
Recorded by: Bartels on 2003-07-15
Haywood Co.
Comment: Dorsal cuticlur patter, PC.