Armorloricus kristenseni (Nanaloricidae, Loricifera): a new species from the Faroe Bank (North Atlantic)

Abstract The year 2003 was the 20th anniversary of the
description of the phylum Loricifera and of the type
species Nanaloricus mysticus Kristensen, 1983, from
Roscoff, France. To honour this occasion, a loriciferan of
the newly described genus Armorloricus, from Roscoff,
will be named after the discoverer of the phylum Loricifera, Professor Reinhardt Møbjerg Kristensen. This new
species, Armorloricus kristenseni sp. nov., was found
during two cruises to the Faroe Bank in the North Atlantic, in 1992 and 2001. The specimens were collected at
three different stations (one in 1992 and two in 2001) all
situated on the plateau itself at a depth of approximately
150 m. The adults are characterized by their elongated shape, the large lateral lorica plates, the very long,
feather-like scalids in the third row, the long claspers in
the male, and the wheel-like structure of the subcuticle
glands inside the lorica plates on the ventral side. The
Higgins-larvae are characterized by their long middorsal
scalid with a hexagonal base and the small hook-shaped
midventral pair of scalids in row 4. Furthermore, the long,
paired, serrated scalids in row 6 and the asymmetrical
basal plate with numerous teeth in row 7 are also unique
characters. For an easier between-family comparison of
the different scalids and rows on the introvert, the second
row in the adults of Nanaloricidae has been split up into
two rows, so that all adult loriciferans posses a total of
nine rows on the introvert.