Open AccessMorphometric analysis of Ramazzottius varieornatus (Hypsibiidae: Eutardigrada)
Author(s) -
KINCHIN IAN M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1996.tb02332.x
Subject(s) - biology , holotype , intraspecific competition , zoology , genus , population , moulting , ecology , demography , sociology , larva
A sample from the holotype population of the limno‐terrestrial eutardigrade Ramazzoltius varieornatus was examined in order to elucidate the variation occurring in the size of the sclerified structures of the pharyngeal apparatus. A frequency plot of body lengths was also produced to deduce the effectiveness of this technique in estimating the number of moults exhibited by this species. Problems associated with collecting and using morphometric data in this way are discussed. Additional ultrastructural information associated with moulting is also presented. New species within the genus may be difficult to recognize in the absence of adequate data related to intraspecific variation.