Jędrzej Warguła
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Pushpalata Kayastha
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Biology Department, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Kacper Cygert
Department of Genetics and Biosystematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
Katarzyna Nawrot
Department of Animal Morphology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Wiktoria Dmuchowska
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Department of Animal Morphology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Anastasiia Polishchuk
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Magdalena Gawlak
Institute of Plant Protection – National Research Institute, Władysława Węgorka 20, 60-318 Poznań, Poland
Michalina Krakowiak
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Department of Molecular Virology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
Daniel Stec
Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland
Łukasz Kaczmarek
Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-680, Poznań, Poland
[We follow the code of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, taxonomic papers with new species/genus descriptions will not have early view version.]
Communicated by Benny Kwok Kan Chan
In this study, we present descriptions of two new species of the genus Mesobiotus discovered in the tropical rainforest of Kibale National Park in Uganda, the first new tardigrade species from this location. Our research utilized morphological data obtained with light and scanning electron microscopes and DNA sequences of four genetic markers (28S rRNA, 18S rRNA, CO1 and ITS-2). The main character distinguishing the new species, Mesobiotus ugandicus sp. nov., is the presence of egg processes in the shape of wide cones without filaments. The second new species Mesobiotus krystynae sp. nov. is distinguished mainly by having egg processes with long, slender endings with short filaments. However, both new species are properly differentiated from phenotypically similar species of the Mesobiotus harmsworthi morpho-group by morphological and morphometric details of animals and eggs. The genetic data allowed us also to conduct a phylogenetic analysis, which elucidated positions of the new taxa and extended our understanding of the relationships within the genus.
