Abstract Two new species of macrodasyidan gastrotrichs were found in coarse intertidal sands of Frenchmans Beach, a high-energy beach facing the South Pacific Ocean, on the eastern side of North Stradbroke Island, Australia. Paraturbanella stradbroki n. sp. is up to 665 µm long and is distinguished from its congeners by the shape of the head, the presence of dorsal and lateral adhesive tubes, the pattern of locomotor cilia, and the lack of piston pits and a median caudal cone. Turbanella brusci n. sp. is up to 1002 µm long and is characterised by the shape of the head, the presence of three paired columns of dorsal, lateral, and ventrolateral adhesive tubes, a median caudal cone, and the lack of “cirrata” tubes. The ventrolateral adhesive tubes are symmetrically aligned beneath the lateral adhesive tubes and are considered unique to the genus. This constitutes the first report of Paraturbanella and Turbanella from Australian waters.
Keywords Gastrotricha; Turbanella; Paraturbanella; meiofauna; Australia; new species
M01046 Received 8 June 2001; accepted 24 October 2001
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2002, Vol. 36: 311–319
0028–8330/02/3602–0311 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2002
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