Marine tardigrade Halechiniscus jejuensis Chang et Rho, 2002 (Arthrotardigrada: Halechiniscidae) found in Vietnam

Abstract

Halechiniscus jejuensis Chang et Rho, 2002 is found and briefly described from a mangrove habitat in the Nha Trang area, Central Vietnam. The species was originally described at the southernmost point of the Korean Peninsula, hence the new find extends considerably the geographic distribution of the species southwards to the tropical zone. The Vietnamese specimens slightly differ from the Korean ones in shape and number of the lateral body expansions. A peculiar feature of the Vietnamese specimens is development of thread-like colonial prokaryotes on ventral surface of the head.