Echiniscus blumi Richters, 1903

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, 2017, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa, Zootaxa 4284 (1), pp. 1-74 : 11

13. Echiniscus blumi Richters, 1903 [T] [m]

Echiniscus blumi ( Ramløv & Kristensen 1985)

Echiniscus (Echiniscus) blumi Richters, 1903 ( Séméria 1986)

Terra typica : Svalbard (Spitsbergen)

Israel and Palestinian National Authority:

• 31°42′N, 35°12′E; 800 m asl: Judean Mountains , Bethlehem, steppe, semi-arid climate, moss ( BRyum sp.) on rock. Rahm (1936)

Libya:

• 32°29′N, 20°50′E; 350 m asl: Marj District, Barce [Marj], moss. Pilato & Pennisi (1976)

Morocco:

• 33°31′N, 05°07′W; 1,650 m asl: Meknès-Tafilalet Region, Ras al Ma [Res el Ma], mosses and lichens on trees ( CedRus ) and rocks. Séméria (1986)

• 33°27′N, 05°13′W; 1,250 m asl: Meknès-Tafilalet Region, ca. 30 [60] km S of Meknes, Azrou , mosses and lichens. Séméria (1986)

• 33°04′N, 05°00′W; 2,000 m asl [2,100 m asl]: Meknès-Tafilalet Region, near Aguelmane de Si-Ali (Col du Zad) [Aguelmame Sidi Ali lake], scattered basalt blocks (lava field) lying on the shores of the lake, mosses on basalt blocks. Ramløv & Kristensen (1985)

• 32°25′N, 05°13′W; 1,750 m asl: Meknès-Tafilalet Region, S of Azrou , cedar forest, moss on basalt boulders in the forest glade. Ramløv & Kristensen (1985)

• 31°06′N, 07°55′W; 2,300–2,500 m asl: Tadla-Azilal Region, path to the Jebel Toubkal , scattered tussock vegetation, moss on basalt and mica slate. Ramløv & Kristensen (1985)

• 30°27′N, 07°32′W; 1,850 m asl: Souss-Massa-Drâa Region, Tizi-n-Taghatine , sparse vegetation, mosses and lichens on isolated basalt cliffs. Ramløv & Kristensen (1985)

Tunisia:

• 36°46′N, 08°41′E; 650 m asl: Jendouba Governorate, surroundings of Ain Draham [Ayn Drahim]. Binda & Pilato (1987)

Record numbers. Israel and Palestinian National Authority: 1, Libya: 1, Morocco: 6, Tunisia: 1; total: 9.

Remarks. This species is believed to be almost cosmopolitan, however, the locus typicus is in the Arctic and most of the records are from the Northern Hemisphere (Europe and North America) ( McInnes 1994). Echiniscus blumi should perhaps be considered Holarctic, with records from other parts of the world requiring confirmation ( Kaczmarek et al. 2015).