Macrobiotus coronifer Richters, 1903 (type species for Richtersius Pilato amp; Binda, 1989): designating a new neotype from the original type locality described within the integrative taxonomy framework

Abstract

The designation of a neotype for Macrobiotus coronifer Richters, 1903 (now the type species of the genus Richtersius Pilato Binda, 1989) by Maucci Ramazzotti (1981) with type locality Bodø in Norway is shown to be invalid as it does not comply with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Article 75.3.4). Furthermore, the specimen selected by Maucci Ramazzotti (1981) is not from the original type locality, and the superficial and outdated documentation prevent a reliable identification of the species. A Code-compliant neotype is therefore designated. The new neotype was collected from the original locus typicus in Svalbard and described with standard light microscopy, detailed scanning electron microscopy imaging, DNA barcodes and a transcriptome, which makes it ideally suited for stabilising the taxonomy and nomenclature of Richtersius coronifer (Richters, 1903).

Keywords: Tardigrada, Europe, Eutardigrada, neotype, Nomenclature, Norway, Richtersiidae, Richtersius coronifer, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, taxonomy.