Urodasys viviparus Wilke, 1954

Chatterjee, Tapas, Priyalakshmi, Geetha & Todaro, M. Antonio, 2019, An annotated checklist of the macrodasyidan Gastrotricha from India, Zootaxa 4545 (4), pp. 495-510 : 499

Urodasys viviparus Wilke, 1954

Records from India. ANDHRA PRADESH: Visakhapatnam (Waltair)— Ganapati & Rao (1967), Rao & Ganapati (1968a); ODISHA (Orissa): Puri—Rao (1989); ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS: Mayabandar—Rao (1975, 1980b); LAKSHASDWEEP: Agatti, Bangaram—Rao (1991); WEST BENGAL: Medinipur—Sanyal (2012); GENERAL RECORD—Rao (1972), Naidu & Rao (2004), Rao (2005).

Habitat (as in Indian records). Coarse sand with fine shell gravel and a little detritus in the intertidal zone near half tide level.

Distribution. Widespread species, recorded from numerous areas and localities outside the type locality (off Castel dell’Ovo, Naples, Italy); these include West and East Mediterranean Sea, North Europe, British Islands, Bermuda, USA (Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida), Caribbean Sea, Brazil, Red Sea, Maldives, Somalia (as U. cf viviparus ) and India.

Remarks. The species has been found at different depths (from littoral to 33 m) and in sediments of various grain size in general rich in organic detritus. A recent phylogenetic analysis of the genus Urodasys based on a molecular genetic data found specimens of U. viviparus from geographic distant populations (e.g., Cayman islands and Brazil) clustering together, testifying to their common origin (Atherton & Hochberg 2015).