On the genus Dracoderes Higgins & Shirayama, (1990) (Kinorhyncha: Cyclorhagida) with a redescription of its type species, and a description of a new species from Spain

Abstract

The type species of Dracoderes, D. abei, is redescribed based on specimens from several localities in Japan and Korea, and a new species of the genus, Dracoderes gallaicus sp. nov., is described from the coast of Spain in Western Europe. The new species is distinguished by the presence of lateral accessory spines on segment 5. In addition, preliminary diagnostic notes on a yet undescribed species from the Okinawa Region, Dracoderes sp. 1, are provided. Based on new information from D. abei and D. gallaicus sp. nov., an emended genus diagnosis for Dracoderes is proposed. The study includes the first scanning electron microscopical data for species of Dracoderes, and presents for the first time detailed information about head morphology and scalid arrangement, new data about the arrangement of the neck placids, and demonstrates the presence of feebly visible nephridial pores. The new information may be of phylogenetic significance, and is expected to contribute important data for future phylogenetic analyses of the kinorhynch interrelationships.