Page 1 - BALSAMO_etalii_1996

* Marine Gastrotricha from Sicily with
the description of a new species of
Chaetonotus
MARIA BALSAMO
Dipartimento di Scienze della Produzione animale
Università di L'dine,
via S. blauro 2 : 1- 33010 Pagnacco.Udine (Italy)
ELENA FREGNI
PAOLO TONGIORGI
Dipartimento di Biologia animale, Università di Modena,
via Università 4, 1-41100 Modena (Italy)
ABSTRACT
Forty-one spccies (25 hlacrodasyida and 16 Chaetonotida) are
reported from the coasts of Sicily. Among the Chaetonotida,
Chuetonotus sp. 3 Valbonesi Rr L.uporini, 1987 is redescribed and
redrawn from specimens collected from sublittoral sediments of
Giardini Naxos (Taormina), and is nanied Chflet~notiIii~cporinii.
KEY WORDS: Gastrotrich:~- Marine meiofauna - Mediterranean
fauna - Srcrly Italy.
This study falls withiri a larger rescarch programme designed to in- sarnples and the grain size of the sediment at the collecting sites are
vestigate the marine fauna of the western >lediterr:inean area. and
supported by a grant from the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricer-
c h e (C.N.R. contract 90.03258.CT-04, 91.00673.CT-04) to P.
Tongiorgi and the Italian Ministero dell'Cniversiti e della Ricerca
Scientifica e Tecnologica (Prograrnme MURST 40% -Popolamento
animale del Mediterraneo occidentale").
(Rccciurd 14 I;cbr~iriry1996 - Accrptet/ 26 .ilnrch 1996)
INTRODUCTION
Preliminary data o n gastrotrich fauna from Sicily, only
concerning the northern coast of the island (Todaro &
Balsamo, 1990), were conlpleted with the results of a
collecting campaigne carried out during the summer of
1994. This study follows similar surveys which touched
Sardinia (Todaro et al , 1988; Balsamo et al., 1995) and
some Italian ininor islands: Elba, Giglio. Capraia and
Montecristo in the Tuscan Archipelago (Balsamo et n[.,
1992; Todaro et al.. 1992; Balsamo et al., 1994), Ponza in
the Pontine Archipelago and Ischia and Procida in the
Campania Archipelago (Todaro, 1992; Hummon &
Todaro, persona1 communication).
Research on the gastrotrich fauna from island coasts
completes the faunistic and zoogeographic studies on the
marine species of this phylurn which have been carried
out in the past along the Italian peninsular coasts (for the
latest works see Hummon et al., 1992, 1993; Todaro et
al., 1992, Evans et al., 1993; Hummon et al., 1996).
MATERIALS AND iMETHODS
Collectitig time rind sites
Marine sedimerits were sanipled during four collecting cam-
paignes, carried out in July 2nd September 1989 and in blay and June
1994, respectively. Tmenty-one sites were touched ( l 0 on the north-
ern coast, 7 on the southern coast and 4 on the eastern coast): they
a r i listed below 2nd represented in Figure I .
As a rule a sample of sediment was takerl at each site from a depth
varying between 1 and 3 m (sublittoral samples). At five sites tnro
sarnples nrere collected, the second of which from che mater-line (lit-
toral samples). The samplirig dates, the nlater depth of che sublittoral
given in parentheses.
1 . Giardini Naxos, Taormina (V1.1994: littoral sarnple, mediiim
sand; 2-3 m depth. coarse sand): 2. Agnonc Bagni, Catania (V.1994:
littoral sarnple, medium antl 2-3 m dcpth, fine sand mixed with silt):
3. Lido Arenella. Siracusa (\/.1994: 1-2 m depth, mediurn sand); 4.
Rada di Portopalo. Capo Passero (\I. 1994: 2-3 m depth, fine sand); i.
Pozzallo, Marina di Ragusa (V.1994: 1-2 In depth, fine sand); 6. Punta
Braccetto, Marina di Ragusa (V. 1994: 1-2 m depth, fine sand); 7. iclan-
fria, Gela (\7.1994: littoral sample, medium sand mixed with silt; 2-3
o -"o&,i",,,'
TYRRHENIAN SEA I.I4"0, 70 +t-,
_*/-fl
la i)a
7- // i<
'
L , - =L '?qnro i
MEDITERRANEAN a \L ''Ta IONIAN
SEA L SEA
i:
I I
Fig, I - L0~ati01o1t' sarnpling sites.