Ptygura ctenoida Koste & Tobias, 1990

Segers, Hendrik & Shiel, Russell J., 2008, Diversity of cryptic Metazoa in Australian freshwaters: a new genus and two new species of sessile rotifer (Rotifera, Monogononta, Gnesiotrocha, Flosculariidae), Zootaxa 1750 (1), pp. 19-31 : 22

Ptygura ctenoida Koste & Tobias (stat. nov.).

The Ptygura melicerta (Ehrenberg) and P. furcillata (Kellicott) groups are two complexes of closely related taxa that are diagnosed by the presence and shape of dorsal projections, which extend in the lorica in a pair of elongate, egg-shaped plates; these plates only become visible after exposure of the specimens to bleach. In the treatment by Koste (1978), the taxonomic relevance of the shape of the dorsal projections is interpreted as of infrasubspecific significance, however, more recently they have been thought of as having subspecific ( Koste & Tobias 1990) or specific ( José de Paggi 1996) weight. Ptygura ctenoida is easily recognized by its single, barbed dorsal projection. As more distributional data are becoming available ( P. melicerta being cosmopolitan, P. ctenoida recorded from Europe ( Austria, sub. P. melicerta: Donner 1975 ), North Africa ( Algeria: Segers, unpublished), Southeast Asia ( Koste & Tobias 1990)), it is also becoming clear that the different taxa have overlapping areas. Hence, there is no indication to divert from the basic species category in these taxa, so we suggest treating the taxon at the species level. Ptygura ctenoida had not previously been recorded from Australia.