NEWLY RECORDED SPECIES OF BDELLOID ROTIFER IN CHINA AND RESEARCH PROSPECTS

Bdelloid rotifers, belonging to the subclass Bdelloidea (class Eurotatoria; phylum Rotifera), have become an important group attracting scholars in various fields because of their strict parthenogenesis and anhydrobiosis. A newly recorded species of bdelloid rotifer named Otostephanos torquatus Bryce, 1913 was found in moss samples collected from the Wanshan Islands in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, in 2018. A detailed morphological description of this species is currently lacking. This paper describes the main taxonomic features of O. torquatus by describing the morphology of the body and scanning electron microscopy images of its trophi. The important classification of O. torquatus is based on the food pellets and trochi, including special rings, triangular upper lips and trophi with 7/7 major teeth. Food pellets are used to store food in the lumen, and the height of the upper lip is lower than that of the trochi. By comparing the COⅠgene sequence of O. torquatus and familiar species in the same family or genus, it is shown that O. torquatus belongs to the genetic position of the genus Otostephanos. By comparing research results about bdelloid rotifers in other countries and their important position in the study of evolution, Chinese scholars should strengthen the exploration and research on bdelloid rotifers.