Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Cochin 682016, Kerala, India..
Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark..
Zootaxa. 2021 Jun 15;4985(3):381391. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4985.3.5.
Stygarctus keralensis sp. nov. (Arthrotardigrada: Stygarctidae), is described from the intertidal sandy sediments of Vadakara beach, Kerala, Southwest coast of India. To a certain extent, this new species shows morphological similarity with Stygarctus gourbaultae Renaud-Mornant, 1981, however it can be differentiated by some significant distinguishable characters like double looped seminal receptacle ducts and the presence of a bow shaped internal thickening in between the opening of seminal receptacles situated below the level of gonopore and above the anus; unsculptured body plates I-III; paired sub-cephalic pore/muscle attachment; shape and structure of caudal processes. Presence of minute spikes on third lateral processes in the new species is another unique character by which it can be easily differentiated from S. gourbaultae.
新种 Stygarctus keralensis sp. nov.（节甲目：Stygarctidae）描述于印度西南海岸喀拉拉邦瓦达卡拉海滩的潮间带沙质沉积物中。在某种程度上，这个新物种在形态上与 Stygarctus gourbaultae Renaud-Mornant, 1981 有一定的相似性，但它可以通过一些显著的可区分特征来区分，例如双环式精囊导管和位于肛门前下方的精囊开口之间存在弓状内部增厚；无纹饰的体板 I-III；成对的亚头孔/肌肉附着；尾突的形状和结构。新种的第三个侧突上有微小的刺，这是另一个独特的特征，可以很容易地将其与 S. gourbaultae 区分开来。
