Background The phylum Tardigrada consists of over 1,300 species that inhabit terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments throughout the world. In terrestrial habitats they live primarily in mosses, lichens, leaf litter and soil, whereas tardigrades in freshwater and marine environments are mainly found in sediments and on aquatic plants. More than 65 species have been previously reported in the state of Tennessee, USA. Methods Tardigrades present in moss cushions (Grimmia sp.) collected from a xerothermic habitat on the East Tennessee State University campus, Johnson City, TN, USA, were extracted, mounted on slides, identified, and counted. Additional samples of fresh dried moss were used for integrative analyses, including morphological analysis with phase contrast (PCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as molecular analyses of COI, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and ITS-2 of the Macrobiotus and Milnesium species. Results Five species were found, including two species new to science: Viridiscus miraviridis sp. nov. and Macrobiotus basiatus sp. nov. Viridiscus miraviridis sp. nov. differs from other members of the genus mainly by having a different type of dorsal cuticle and some other, more subtle, morphometric characters. In addition to the two new species, Viridiscus perviridis and Viridiscus viridissimus were present, and males of Vir. viridissimus were found for the first time, the first record of males in the genus Viridiscus. Macrobiotus basiatus sp. nov. is most similar to Macrobiotus nelsonae, but it differs from Mac. nelsonae mainly by the stylet supports being situated in a more anterior position, shorter and narrower egg processes, and a smaller number of areoles around the egg processes. Moreover, the identification of Milnesium inceptum was confirmed as the first record for the USA by analysis of COI.

中文翻译：

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在田纳西州东北部（美国，北美）的一个干热栖息地中，来自苔藓垫（Grimmia sp.）的两种新的缓步动物，首次鉴定出绿色属的雄性

背景缓步动物门由 1,300 多种物种组成，它们栖息在世界各地的陆地、淡水和海洋环境中。在陆地栖息地，它们主要生活在苔藓、地衣、落叶和土壤中，而淡水和海洋环境中的缓步动物主要生活在沉积物和水生植物中。美国田纳西州此前曾报道过超过 65 种。方法 从美国田纳西州约翰逊城东田纳西州立大学校园的干热栖息地采集的苔藓垫 (Grimmia sp.) 中存在的缓步动物被提取、安装在载玻片上、识别和计数。额外的新鲜干燥苔藓样品用于综合分析，包括相衬 (PCM) 和扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 的形态分析，以及对 Macrobiotus 和 Milnesium 物种的 COI、18S rRNA、28S rRNA 和 ITS-2 的分子分析。结果发现了五个物种，包括两个科学新物种：Viridiscus miraviridis sp。十一月 和 Macrobiotus basiatus sp。十一月 Viridiscus miraviridis sp。十一月 与该属的其他成员的不同之处主要在于具有不同类型的背角质层和一些其他更微妙的形态特征。除了这两个新物种外，还有 Viridiscus perviridis 和 Viridiscus viridissimus 以及 Vir 的雄性。viridissimus 首次被发现，这是 Viridiscus 属中雄性的第一个记录。Macrobiotus basiatus sp。十一月 与 Macrobiotus nelsonae 最相似，但与 Mac 不同。nelsonae 主要由管心针支撑位于更靠前的位置，更短和更窄的卵突，和较少数量的围绕鸡蛋过程的areoles。此外，通过COI分析，确认了Milnesium inceptum的鉴定为美国的第一个记录。