Abstract
The cosmopolitan echiniscid genus Hypechiniscus contains exclusively rare species. In this contribution, by combining statistical morphometry and molecular phylogeny, we present qualitative and quantitative aspects of Hypechiniscus diversity, which remained hidden under the two purportedly cosmopolitan species: H. gladiator and H. exarmatus. A neotype is designated for H. gladiator from Creag Meagaidh (Scotland), and an informal re-description is provided for H. exarmatus based on animals from Creag Meagaidh and the Isle of Skye (Inner Hebrides). Subspecies/forms of H. gladiator are suppressed due to the high developmental variability of the cirrus dorsalis. At the same time, four species of the genus are described: H. daedalus sp. nov. from Roan Mountain and the Great Smoky Mountains (Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA), H. flavus sp. nov. and H. geminus sp. nov. from the Yatsugatake Mountains (Honshu, Japan), and H. cataractus sp. nov. from the Malay Archipelago (Borneo and the Moluccas). Dorsal and ventral sculpturing, together with morphometric traits, are shown to be the key characters that allow for the phenotypic discrimination of species within the genus. Furthermore, the morphology of Hypechiniscus is discussed and compared to that of the most similar genera, Pseudechiniscus and Stellariscus. Finally, a diagnostic key to all recognized Hypechiniscus species is provided.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |
| Vol/bind | 192 |
| Udgave nummer | 3 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 794-852 |
| Antal sider | 59 |
| ISSN | 0024-4082 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2021 |
Finansiering
Sample collectors are gratefully acknowledged (alphabetically): Nate Gross, Mackenzie McClay, Malgorzata Mitan and Malgorzata Osielczak. Brent McGuirt kindly allowed the use of the photograph showing the habitat of Hypechiniscus daedalus. Two reviewers and the Editor in Chief, Dr Maarten Christenhusz, are thanked for improving the manuscript. The study was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education via the Diamond Grant (DI2015 014945 to PG, supervised by LM), by the Preludium grant funded by the National Science Centre (grant no. 2019/33/N/NZ8/02777 to PG, supervised by LM), the SYNTHESYS programme (grants no. HU-TAF-2224 to LM and DK-TAF-6332 to PG) and by the Carlsberg Foundation (grant no. CF160236 to RMK, from which the short internship of PG at NHMD was financed). Some of the analyses were carried out with the equipment purchased from the Sonata Bis programme of the Polish National Science Centre (grant no. 2016/22/E/NZ8/00417 to LM). PG was supported by the START stipend from the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) and the Etiuda stipend (2020/36/T/NZ8/00360) from the National Science Centre. Open-access publication of this article was funded by the BioS Priority Research Area under the programme "Excellence Initiative - Research University" at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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