Echinoderes antalyaensis sp. nov. (Cyclorhagida: Kinorhyncha) from Antalya, Turkey, Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

A new kinorhynch species, Echinoderes antalyaensis sp. nov., is described based on specimens from Antalya, Turkey, eastern Mediterranean Sea. Echinoderes antalyaensis sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of a middorsal acicular spine on segment 4, laterodorsal tubes on segment 10, lateral accessory tubes on segments 5 and 8, lateroventral tubes on segment 2, and lateroventral acicular spines on segments 6–8, and by the absence of type-2 glandular cell outlets. The morphology of the ornaments of outer oral styles among Echinoderidae and the value of the character in the future taxonomic studies are discussed. The new species is the third Echinoderes species from Turkish waters, and the 14th species from the Mediterranean Sea.