Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) cf. oculifer Kisielewski, 1981

Kolicka, Małgorzata, Kisielewski, Jacek, Nesteruk, Teresa & Zawierucha, Krzysztof, 2013, Gastrotricha from the Poznań Palm House — one new subgenus and three new species of freshwater Chaetonotida (Gastrotricha), Zootaxa 3717 (2), pp. 231-279 : 262

Chaetonotus (Chaetonotus) cf. oculifer Kisielewski, 1981 ( Table 10)

Locality: Site 2; session I, II, III.

Material: 4 specimens (all adult), all photographed.

Remarks: All specimens of C. (C.) cf. oculifer found in the Poznań Palm House correspond well with the original description of C. (C.) oculifer . However, they differ from the original description in that they lack a pair of ocellar granules, have a smaller body size (80.4–87.9 Μm vs 97–137 Μm), shorter pharynx (21.7–22.4 Μm vs 27–38 Μm), and a pair of posterior sensory bristles that are not mentioned in the original description. Inconsiderable morphometrical differences and the lack of ocellar granules do not justify describing C. (C.) cf. oculifer as a new taxon. In previous studies in some populations of C. (C.) oculifer not from the Sphagnum peat bogs a lack of ocular granules was also recorded (Kisielewski, unpublished data).

Distribution: Previously recorded in Australia (Kisielewski 1997a), Brazil (Kisielewski 1991), France (Kisielewski 1997a), Great Britain (Martin 1981), Poland (e.g. Kisielewska & Kisielewski 1986a, b, c), Russia (e.g. Tretjakova 1991) and Sweden (Kånneby et al. 2009).