Habrotrocha thienemanni rubella Donner, 1951

Song, Min Ok & Lee, Chang-Ho, 2023, Four bdelloid rotifers new to Korea, Journal of Species Research 12 (2), pp. 115-121 : 116-117

2. Habrotrocha thienemanni rubella Donner, 1951

Ṛêfflŀ대ffiữṞệ (ṳḑ)

Habrotrocha thienemanni var. rubella Donner, 1951, pp. 616 - 618 , fig. 3.

Material examined. Two specimens from mosses and soil at Budong-myeon, Cheongsong-gun , Gyeongsangbuk-do, 36°18′57.3″N, 129°13′23.8″E, on 18 Sep. 2021 .

Diagnosis. Rostral lamella short and round. Rostrum thick and short. Antenna pseudosegment round laterally. Pharyngeal tube slightly longer than trophi length. Corona much narrower than cingulum. Sulcus very narrow. Pedicel high. Upper lip two layered; upper layer lower than trochal discs, thin and triangle-shaped; much narrower than lower layer; lower layer arched, narrow and much lower than upper layer; cingulum rimmed by lower layer. Trunk, rump and foot granulated. Spurs conical and with very narrow interspace.

Measurements. Total length in creeping 179 - 190 μm. Total length in feeding 146 - 157 μm. Greatest trunk width in creeping 24 - 28 μm. Greatest trunk width in feeding 42 μm. Greatest rump width in creeping 20 - 22 μm. Corona width 13 - 14 μm. Cingulum width 21 μm. Cingulum pad width 20 μm.

Remarks. Habrotrocha thienemanni rubella is distinguished from H. t. thienemanni Hauer, 1924 by the following characteristics: (1) corona is slightly wider than cingulum in H. t. thienemanni , while it is much narrower than cingulum in H. t. rubella and (2) the pedicel of H. t. rubella is higher than that of H. t. thienemanni . Donner (1951) described that the body color of H. t. rubella was always reddish brown. However, the body color of the Korean specimens was pale instead of reddish brown.

This subspecies-level taxon was not found again after the original description from Austria by Donner (1951). Therefore, the present study is the second report of this subspecies. New to Asia as well.

World distribution. Austria and Korea.

Deposition. Deposited in the collection of the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources, Sangju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea ( NNIBR2021523 IV8275) .