Tardigrada from the Husvik area, South Georgia, sub-Antarctic

Abstract

Eleven species of tardigrades in South Georgia, of which two are new to science, were found in samples collected at fifteen localities. The highest number of species was found in moss from a scree field. Twenty species of tardigrades are presently known from South Georgia, but the island remains insufficiently investigated. The species composition is similar to that of southern South America. The high number of cosmopolitan species makes the geographical distribution pattern of the South Georgian tardigrades more similar to that of macrolichens than to that of insects and vascular plants.