CUSAT researchers name new marine tardigrade species after A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

CUSAT researchers name new marine tardigrade species after A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

• Researchers at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) have identified a new species of marine tardigrade which they have named after the late former President and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Named ‘Batillipeskalami’, the new species of tardigrades was found by researchers in the intertidal beach sediments of Mandapam coast, close to Kalam’s birthplace in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
• The newly-discovered species is approximately 0.17mm long and 0.05mm wide, characterized by four pairs of legs.
• It belongs to the phylum Tardigrada, which comprises more than 1,300 described species.
• Of them, just 17% are marine species.
• Batillipeskalami is the 37th species under the genus Batillipes. Few morphological variations among species and limited number of differential characters make its taxonomy challenging and problematic.
• Though studies on tardigrades are increasing worldwide, the phylum remains unexplored. Studies from India are in the evolving stages.
• This is the second time a marine tardigrade is described from Indian waters – the first time from the east coast.
• In 2021, the same research team discovered a marine tardigrade from the southwest coast and named it ‘Stygarctuskeralensis’ after the state of Kerala.

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Published date : 22 Sep 2023 04:20PM