Bertolanius weglarskae Dastych 1972

Bertolanius weglarskae (Dastych, 1972)

(Figure 2 A–E)

Locality. Streymoy: “Sornfelli”, spring with Mniumbryum sp. 4.6ºC, altitude 560 m; “Við Áir”, homothermic spring 12ºC, altitude 50 m (sample collected in 1981 and again in 2001: temp. 11.2ºC, moss and vegetation, probably further downstream). Eysturoy: “Varmakelda”, homothermic spring, 18ºC, altitude 15 m. In vicinity of “Varmakelda”, moss in rivulet, altitude 73 m. Summit of Vaðhorn, moss and lichen, altitude 726 m. Vágoy: “Oyrargjógv”, wet moss on cliffside, altitude 5 m.

Specific diagnosis. Body length 600–650 µm (two specimens measured)—much larger than the type material from Tatra Mountains. Small black eyes present. The trumpet-shaped buccal tube (Figs. 2 B and D) rather short and wide (63 µm long and 15 µm wide, in animal of 650 µm). Buccal cavity with a broad band (2nd band) of 5–6 rows of infrabuccal teeth (mucrones or rounded teeth) and a single row (3rd band) of infrabuccal teeth or ridges (infrabuccal baffles or transverse ridges). First band of infrabuccal teeth, absent. Large triangular apophyses in the pharyngeal bulb (Figs. 2 B and D). Three macroplacoids present, first and second joined, total length 25 µm, third macroplacoid 13 µm long. Microplacoid absent (Figs. 2 B and D). Claws of the Eohypsibiidae type (Fig. 2 C).

Lunules at the base of all claws, two cuticular bars present (Fig. 2 C) beneath the claws of legs I-III, an accessory cuticular bar close to the internal claws of legs II and III. Yellow eggs laid free, range in diameter from 75–138 µm without the projections (Fig. 2 E). The projections are enveloped in a hyaline layer, of pentamer appearance, producing on the surface a regular reticular network, with wide mesh.

Remarks. Except for the large size, the Faroese specimens of B. weglarskae fit the description of the type material from Poland (Dastych 1972) and the re-description of the species based on the Greenlandic specimens (Hansen & Katholm 2002). Brown cysts were found in “Við Áir” homothermic spring and on the summit of Vaðhorn. The species has been collected from Iceland (Marley & Wright 1996), Svalbard (Coulson & Refseth 2004) and has a mainly northern Holarctic distribution (McInnes, pers. comm.).