Neogosseidae (Gastrotricha, Chaetonotida) from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract. Among the mostly benthic gastrotrichs, the Neogosseidae (Gastrotricha, Chaetonotida) are particularly interesting from an evolutionary point of view in virtue of their planktonic lifestyle; yet, they are poorly known and uncertainties concerning morphological traits hamper accurate in-group systematics. During a recent survey of meiofauna in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa, two species of Neogosseidae were found in a freshwater pond near Charter’s Creek on the Western Shores of Lake St Lucia. Based on morphological traits, one species has been identified as Neogossea acanthocolla, originally described from Brazil, while the other, affiliated to the genus Kijanebalola, is proposed as new to science. Using a combination of differential interference contrast and scanning electron microscopy, fine anatomical details were observed and are here discussed in a larger taxonomic framework, especially regarding Kijanebalola devestiva sp. n. Results have also provided reasons for a revision of the diagnostic traits of Kijanebalola, Neogossea and the whole Family Neogosseidae. Besides expanding awareness about the biodiversity hosted by South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, our study will be beneficial to future phylogenetic studies of the Gastrotricha based on morphology, by allowing the selection and/or a more precise character coding of traits of phylogenetic relevance.