Hypsibius convergens ( Urbanowicz, 1925 ), 2017

Kaczmarek, Łukasz, 2017, Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa, Zootaxa 4284 (1), pp. 1-74 : 24

53. Hypsibius convergens ( Urbanowicz, 1925) sensu lato [T]

Hypsibius (H.) conveRgens ( Urbanowicz), 1925 ( Rodriguez-Roda 1947) Hypsibius conveRgens ( Iharos 1969a)

Hypsibius conveRgens Urbanowicz, 1925 ( Pilato & Pennisi 1976)

Hypsibius conveRgens Urb. ( Iharos 1978)

Hypsibius (H.) conveRgens (Urbanowicz, 1928) ( Haspeslagh 1982)

Terra typica : Ukraine (Europe)

Algeria:

• 36°38′N, 05°45′E; 1,200 m asl: Jijel Province, M’Sid-Ech-Cheta (Texenna Pass). Binda & Pilato (1987)

Cameroon:

• 04°13′N, 09°10′E; 4,000 m asl: Southwest Region, Mount Cameroon National Park, Mount Cameroon, near fumaroles (80°C), moss on soil. Iharos (1969a)

• 04°11′N, 09°12′E; 1,900–1,950 m asl: Southwest Region, Mount Cameroon National Park, Mount Cameroon, primeval forest, above bothy No. 1, moss on trees and lava. Iharos (1969a)

• 04°10′N, 09°13′E; 1,300–1,500 m asl: Southwest Region, Mount Cameroon National Park, Mount Cameroon, rainforest, moss on tree. Iharos (1969a)

Equatorial Guinea:

• 03°37′N, 08°48′E; 1,800–2,000 m asl: Fernando Póo [Bioko Island], Bioko Norte Province, near refuge at Pico Basilé , on Rubiaceae leaf with liverworts attached. Rodriguez-Roda (1947)

Kenya:

• 00°10′S, 37°18′E; 4,270 m asl: Nyeri County, Mount Kenya National Park, Mount Kenya, Teleki Tarn, small effluent and shallow pond, silt, sediments and sandy gravel. Haspeslagh (1982)

Libya:

• 32°49′N, 21°51′E; 600 m asl: Jabal al Akhdar District, Cyrene , moss. Pilato & Pennisi (1976)

Republic of South Africa:

• 28°07′S, 27°59′E; 1,000 m asl: Undefined locality, Pretoria Province [Gauteng Province] Dragon Mountains, near waterfall, moss on soil. Kaczmarek & Michalczyk (2004b)

• 28°13′S, 31°57′E; 350 m asl: KwaZulu-Natal Province, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Park , lichen on tree ( Acacia ). Meyer & Hinton (2009)

Tunisia:

• 36°14′N, 08°46′E; 1,100 m asl: Kef Governorate, 6 km NE of El Kef, Djebel Eddir Mts., surroundings of Ferme Shitta , moss and lichen on rock. Iharos (1978)

Record numbers. Algeria: 1, Cameroon: 3, Equatorial Guinea: 1, Kenya: 1, Libya: 1, Republic of South Africa: 2, Tunisia: 1; total: 10.

Remarks. Hypsibius convergens sensu lato is a species complex (Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2009) with an apparent global distribution ( McInnes 1994). The taxa within this complex require careful examination, and can only be determined via subtle morphometric details of the claws and other characters (e.g. Miller et al. 2005, Kaczmarek & Michalczyk 2009). The nominal species of the group is either Palaearctic or Holarctic, so (particularly early) African records require re-examination.