Macrobiotus polyopus Marcus, 1928 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 : 75

179. Macrobiotus polyopus Marcus, 1928 sensu lato [T]

M. polyopus Marcus ( Claps & Rossi 1997)

Terra typica: Sumatra ( Indonesia)

Brazil:

• 20°33′S, 48°34′W; 550 m asl: São Paulo State, Barretos. de Barros (1942b)

Uruguay:

• 30°57′S, 57°31′W; 50 m asl: Salto Department, Termas del Arapey, mosses or lichens on rocks, trees or posts or aquatic macrophytes. Claps & Rossi (1997)

• 32°31′S, 55°46′W: Undefined locality, Cañada Cousillas, mosses or lichens on rocks, trees or posts or aquatic macrophytes. Claps & Rossi (1997)

Record numbers: Brazil: 1, Uruguay: 2; total: 3.

Remarks: This is the nominal species for the polyopus group, which comprises a number of very similar species that mainly differ in egg morphology. The group is probably Gondwanan in distribution (Pilato 2006), and requires careful examination in order to ensure correct identification (Pilato 2006, Pilato & Kaczmarek 2007). Pilato (2006) had grave doubts about the validity of the Brazilian (de Barros 1942b) example, suggesting Macrobiotus polyopus was restricted to Sumatra and that other members of the group occurred elsewhere. Therefore, the presence of this species in South America is questionable, and probably represents new taxa.