Hypsibius pallidus Thulin, 1911 sensu

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, Michalczyk, Łukasz & Mcinnes, Sandra J., 2015, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part II: South America, Zootaxa 3923 (1), pp. 1-107 : 43

97. Hypsibius pallidus Thulin, 1911 sensu lato [T]

Hypsibius (Hypsibius) pallidus ( Ramazzotti 1964b)

H. pallidus ( Garitano-Zavala 1996)

Terra typica: Sweden (Europe)

Argentina:

• 36°50′S, 71°00′W; 1,500 m asl: Neuquén Province, Epulauquen Lake, mosses on soil and rock. Rossi et al. (2009)

• 39°14′S, 70°55′W; 950 m asl: Neuquén Province, Aluminé, Abra Ancha, lichen on soil. Rossi et al. (2009)

Bolivia:

• 16°11′S, 68°35′W; 3680–4000 m asl: La Paz Department, Cordillera de la Real de los Andes, Huarina, moorland floor, cushion moss. Garitano-Zavala (1995, 1996)

• 16°13′S, 68°13′W; 4550–4700 m asl: La Paz Department, Cordillera de la Real de los Andes, Tuni, subnival floor, cushion moss. Garitano-Zavala (1995, 1996)

Chile:

• 33°24′S, 71°08′W; 330 m asl: Region RM Metropolitana (Región Metropolitana de Santiago), Curacaví, mosses. Ramazzotti (1964b)

Record numbers: Argentina: 2, Bolivia: 2, Chile: 1; total: 5.

Remarks: Hypsibius pallidus sensu lato is a possible species complex that can be confused with H. microps and species belonging to the Hypsibius convergens - dujardini complexes and therefore requires careful examination. Recent work on these taxa species groups has recognised claw details and additional morphometric characters (e.g. Miller et al. 2005, Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2009a). Originally described from Sweden, Hypsibius pallidus is a common European species (but it is also known from non-European localities) ( McInnes 1994a). We suggest this example should be re-examined as potentially representing a new species, questioning the presence of Hypsibius pallidus in South America.