Kauaʻi record · KCA-WOI-00046
Minibiotus intermedius
Open this record in the interactive Atlas
About Minibiotus intermedius
Minibiotus intermedius is a microscopic tardigrade with a pale body, large eyes, a smooth poreless cuticle and four pairs of short legs. The neotype diagnosis describes ten papulae around the mouth and paired branched claws with accessory points. Fine structures of the buccal apparatus, claws and eggs require microscopy and cannot be verified from an ecological illustration alone.
The plate reconstructs the named neotype concept studied by Kaczmarek and colleagues in 2022 from Marburg, Germany. This morphology basis does not establish the identity of the historical Kauaʻi voucher. The Atlas retains the 2011 moss-and-lichen record reported in Meyer’s2015 Oceania account, with current species-complex reconciliation open. The historical source does not establish current abundance or island-wide distribution.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Minibiotus intermedius
- Family
- Macrobiotidae
- Order
- Parachela
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Documented source record (2011)
- Origin
- Origin not yet resolved
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal description
- Minibiotus intermedius is documented in a Kauaʻi source record. Wave 01 preserves the taxon concept exactly as reported. Current accepted-name reconciliation remains open; occurrence is not represented as a 2026 observation.