First record of the tardigrade Echiniscus testudo (Doyère, 1840) from northeast of Iran (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae)

نویسندگان
Mokhtari, Ali ID 1
Abedian, Seyed Mohammad Javad ID 2
Molavi, Farahnaz ID 3
Nayebi Moghaddam, Simin ID 4
Azimi Taraghdari, Z. ID 5

1 Islamic Azad University of Mashhad

2 Azad University

3 ferdowsi university

4 azad university

5 Azad University

doi
10.22067/ijab.v14i1.64344
چکیده

Tardigrada is a phylum closely allied with the arthropods. They are small (0.05-1.20 mm), hygrophilous micrometazoans, have four pairs of lobe-like legs and are either carnivorous or feed on plant material. Most of the tardigrade species are limno-terrestrial. In two moss and lichen samples collected in Mashhad, one heterotardigrade species was found. Echiniscus testudo (Doyère, 1840) belongs to the Echiniscidae group and differs from most of other species in this group mainly by having a different claw configuration and by some morphometric characters. This study is the first report of tardigrades from Iran.

کلیدواژه‌ها
Ecdysozoan, Water bears, Middle East, Tardigrada, Biogeography, Diversity