Reconsideration on Two Acanthodasys Species (Gastrotricha: Macrodasyida: Thaumastodermatidae) from Korea, with Nomenclatural Note on Korean Marine Gastrotrichs

Abstract

Two marine gastrotrich species of the genus Acanthodasys, A. ericinus Lee, 2012 and A. comtus Lee, 2012, are taxonomically reconsidered. Both of them were originally described based on the specimens from intertidal or sublittoral sandy bottom of the Yellow Sea and Jeju Island, South Korea, and included in a monographical publication of 〈Flora and Fauna in Korea〉 in 2012. However, the description of them was quite insufficient, and designations of type specimens were entirely lacking. In this study, we make a subsequent designation of type specimens for the two Acanthodasys species, and carry out a full redescription of them with additional remarks on their morphological micro-characteristics by scanning electronic microscopy. Some brief nomenclatural notes on Korean marine gastrotrichs are also provided.