DOI: 10.38006/00187-838-4.2024.280.281
А. Ю. Цветкова, Д. В. Туманов
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, Санкт-Петербург
This work is devoted to the investigation of semiterrestrial tardigrade fauna of the northern Palearctic. Samples were taken on Svalbard archipelago, on Novaya Zemlya and in northwestern Syberia. We use a combination of high resolution light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and molecular taxonomy. We receive both sequences of rapidly evolving COI and ITS-2 barcode genes, which are important to ascertain the relationships of closely related species, and sequences of 18SSU and 28SSU genes. In total, 51 Tardigrada species belonging to 29 genera were found. At least 13 species are new to science. The description of the new species from the genus Testechiniscus (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae) allows us to introduce a new character in the nomenclature of Echiniscidae body surface sclerotisation. This work marks the first effort to investigate the tardigrade fauna or the Russian Arctic utilising methods of DNA
barcoding.