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Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists. Last updated 6 July 2013 and
available at <www.bryoecol.mtu.edu>.
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CHAPTER 4-7
INVERTEBRATES: ROTIFER TAXA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Taxa on Bryophytes, Ploimida continued ........................................................................................................... 4-7-2
Lepadellidae................................................................................................................................................. 4-7-2
Lindiidae ...................................................................................................................................................... 4-7-6
Microcodinidae ............................................................................................................................................ 4-7-6
Mytilinidae................................................................................................................................................... 4-7-6
Notommatidae.............................................................................................................................................. 4-7-7
Proalidae .................................................................................................................................................... 4-7-17
Scardiidae................................................................................................................................................... 4-7-18
Synchaetidae .............................................................................................................................................. 4-7-18
Tetrasiphonidae.......................................................................................................................................... 4-7-20
Trichocercidae............................................................................................................................................ 4-7-20
Trichotriidae............................................................................................................................................... 4-7-24
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 4-7-26
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................................. 4-7-26
Literature Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 4-7-26
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CHAPTER 4-7
INVERTEBRATES: ROTIFER TAXA
Taxa on Bryophytes, Ploimida continued
Lepadellidae
Many of the Lepadellidae are cosmopolitan, often
occurring in freshwater habitats (Baribwegure & Segers
2001). In particular, the genera Colurella, Lepadella, and
Squatinella are widespread. These same three genera are
well represented among bryophyte collections. A fourth
genus, Paracolurella, also is known from bryophytes.
Figure 4.
Colurella adriatica, a known bryophyte
inhabitant. Note the ventral position of the foot. Photo by Michel
Verolet.
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Figure 27.
Lepadella venefica from among emersed
Sphagnum subsecundum. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
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Microcodinidae
This family has only one genus, and only one of the
species, Microcodon clavus, is known from bryophytes. It
has no lorica (shell) and is shaped like a cone with a long,
ventral foot (Naberezhnomu 1984).
Figure 34. Side view of Squatinella lamellaris mutica from
a Sphagnum bog. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
Photo by
Lindiidae
This is a small family with at least fifteen species (De
Smet 2005). Only three of these occur in salt water. Only
one species is known from bryophytes.
Mytilinidae
The Mytilinidae are loricate rotifers (Koste & Shiel
1989). That is, they have a shell. This lorica is triangular
to rhombic in cross section and there is often a double keel
on the dorsal side. The species are littoral bottom-dwellers,
rarely occurring in the plankton. There are only two
genera, but only Mytilina, a genus with 37 species, is
represented among bryophytes, with two species thus far
reported here.
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Notommatidae
The name Notommatidae literally means "not eye."
The members of this family lack an eye and have a nearly
cylindrical body with a thin foot and two toes. Many of its
species are known from bryophytes.
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Figure 51.
Cephalodella compressa
Sphagnum. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
from
among
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Figure 76.
Cephalodella mucronata
Sphagnum. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
from
among
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Proalidae
This family lacks a hardened lorica and instead takes
on a wormlike appearance. It lives in freshwater and
occurs on plants, on the bottom, and among sand grains of
the littoral zone as well as in damp terrestrial habitats (EOL
2012). Some are even epizoic on other invertebrates and
some live parasitically in algae or on invertebrates.
Figure 127.
Bryceella stylata, known to occur on
bryophytes, including Sphagnum. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
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Scaridiidae
This is a segregate family from Notommatidae
(Segers 1995).
At least some of the species are
cosmopolitan; some are pantropical.
Synchaetidae
To my mind, this family has some of the most unusuallooking rotifers. Polyarthra reminds me of a Native
American headdress. They are planktonic, but a few
species have been found among bryophytes. Many of the
species have long blade-like flexible appendages. They
feed by a grabbing and sucking motion.
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Trichocercidae
The members of this family have a twisted body or
asymmetrical trophi, or both. Some members are parasitic.
Tetrasiphonidae
As nearly as I can determine, there is one genus and
possibly two species in this family, although Segers (2007)
only lists Tetrasiphon hydrocora. I have not been able to
find the characters that delineate the family.
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Figure 165.
Trichocerca porcellus female.
This
cosmopolitan species is planktonic in small water bodies, in water
with limited nutrients (de Manuel Barrabin 2000). It is active in
winter at temperatures around 9.5C and occurs at a pH around
7.1. Trichocerca porcellus lays eggs inside algal mats such as
Aglaucoseria, Fragilaria, and Dinobryon. It is known from
bryophytes in more than one site, including collections of the
aquatic moss Fontinalis. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
Figure 166.
Trichocerca porcellus major female, a
subspecies of a species known from both a bog and Fontinalis.
Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
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Figure 177.
Trichocerca tigris female, known from
Sphagnum in a bog and from the thallose liverwort Riccia
fluitans in a pond. Photo by Jersabek et al. 2003.
Trichotriidae
This family is loricate and its surface is marked with
facets that have spicules or spines and are mostly granulate.
The lorica extends beyond the body to the head, foot, and
toes. It typically occurs both on and between aquatic
plants, only occurring in the plankton when it is migrating
to a new location. There are only three genera, and two of
them (Macrochaetus, Trichotria) have been collected from
bryophytes.
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Summary
The monogonont order Pliomida is continued here
from the previous sub-chapter. The Lepadellidae is a
cosmopolitan family of freshwater with four genera
known from bryophytes. The Lindiidae is a small
family with only one documented species among
bryophytes. The Microcodinidae has only one genus,
and only one species is from bryophytes.
The
Mytilinidae are littoral species and have a triangular
lorica. The Notommatidae is a large family with a
number of species collected from bryophytes. The
Proalidae has no hardened lorica; it occurs on
freshwater plants. The Scaridiidae is a small family
with one species from bryophytes reported here. The
Synchaetidae has mostly planktonic members, but
some have been found among bryophytes.
The
Tetrasiphonidae may have only one species, and it is
known from bryophytes. The Trichocercidae have a
twisted body; two genera have species on bryophytes.
The Trichotriidae are loricate with spicules or spines;
two genera occur on bryophytes.
Acknowledgments
Bryonetters have been wonderful in making their
photographs available to me and seeking photographs from
others. Tom Powers and Walter Dioni helped me obtain
images and permission from others. C. D. Jersabek very
generously gave me permission to use the wealth of images
from the Online Catalog of Rotifers. Many photographers
have been generous with permission for the use of their
images and others have provided them online through
Creative Commons and other public domain sources.
Literature Cited
Baribwegure, D. and Segers, H. 2001. Rotifera from Burundi:
The Lepadellidae (Rotifera: Monogononta). Hydrobiologia
446/447: 247-254.
Bogdan, K. G. and Gilbert, J. J. 1987. Quantitative comparison
of food niches in some freshwater zooplankton; a multitracer cell approach. Oecologia 72: 331-340.
Brownell, C. L. 1988. A new pelagic marine rotifer from the
southern Benguela, Synchaeta hutchingsi, n. sp., with notes
on its temperature and salinity tolerance and methods of
culture. Hydrobiologia 162: 225-233.
Deneke, R. 2000. Review of rotifers and crustaceans in highly
acidic environments of pH values 3. Hydrobiologia 433:
167-172.
Devetter, M. 1998. Influence of environmental factors on the
rotifer assemblage in an artificial lake. Hydrobiologia
387/388: 171-178.
Devetter, M. and Sed'a, J. 2003. Rotifer fecundity in relation to
components of a microbial food web in a eutrophic
reservoir. Hydrobiologia 504 : 167-175.
EOL.
2012.
Proalidae.
Accessed 10 May 2012 t
<http://eol.org/pages/6878/overview>.
GLERL. 2009. Notommatidae. Updated 17 December 2009.
Accessed
10
May
2012
at
<http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/seagrant/GLWL/Zooplankton/R
otifers/Pages/Notommatidae.html>.