Tardigrades of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
 Family:
Order:
Class:
« »
View PDFBatillipedidae Members: 5 NC Records

Batillipes bullacaudatus McGinty & Higgins, 1968 - No Common Name


Focus merged, BF.
Taxonomy
Class: HeterotardigradaOrder: "Arthrotardigrades" Family: Batillipedidae Checklist Number: 2230.0
Taxonomic Comments: The genus Batillipes is the most speciose of all marine tardigrade genera, containing almost 40 species (about 16% of all marine tardigrade species).
Species Notes: Marine. Only 8 published records worldwide. Reported from Eastern US and western European coasts.
Identification
Online resources:Online Photographs: Google, GBIF                                                                                 
Species Description: Median cirus (20 microns) lacking base, internal buccal cirri 20 microns) with base; external buccal cirri (14 microns), inserted on the cephalic papillae; clavae (13 microns); lateral cirri (28~) originating from a base common with the clavae. The median cirrus, the internal buccal, and those lateral are notched at the distal end (often trifid). Cuticle transparent, with uniformly arranged pores. Mouth ventral, buccal tube straight and narrow; pharynx subspherical. Eyes absent. The cephalic region is bound by a constriction, posterior to the lateral cirri. The width of the body is caudally increased; two lateral conical and pointed projections, anterior to the 4th pair of legs; a long flexible spine (22 microns) on each side, in posterio-lateral position with respect to the conical projections. Short spine on the first three pair of legs, a long spine (28~) on the 4th pair, extending over the extremity of the leg and distally notched; legs telescopic; adults with 6 digits of various length, terminated in a disk. Caudal spine obvious, distally bearing a conspi,cuous bulbous hollow structure, characteristic, and of a type until now unknown among the tardigrades. Such appendage makes the determination of the species easy, which has a certain variability (individuals with a lateral "V" extension in the region of the neck, variation in the curvature and in the distal notching of the cirri and of the spines, in the size, in the shape of the 4th pair of legs at the base, in the presence or absence of the lateral spines and of those on the legs).
-Ramazzotti & Maucci 1983
Body Length: up to 126 microns
Key Characters: Conspicuous balloon terminating rigid tail held erect above the body.
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: Intertidal sand. In collections on Pawley's Island, SC, much more common on sound-side than ocean-side.
Abundance: Can be locally common but patchy.
Diet: Herbivore feeding on algae.
Reproduction: Separate sexes, eggs laid externally with external fertilization.
Observation Methods: PC, DIC, and fluorescent microscopy.
Wikipedia

 Photo Gallery for Batillipes bullacaudatus - No common name

Photos: 4

Recorded by: Bartels on 2021-06-20
Carteret Co.
Comment: Focus merged, BF.		Recorded by: Bartels on 2021-06-20
Carteret Co.
Comment: Blue fluorescence, Focus merged. Orange-red material is algae in gut. Note that balloon is not fluorescent.
Recorded by: Bartels on 2021-06-20
Carteret Co.
Comment: UV fluorescence, focus merged. Note that balloon is non-fluorescent.		Recorded by: Bartels on 2021-06-20
Carteret Co.
Comment: Drawing from Ramazzotti & Maucci 1982