Dendroichthydium, Minowa & Kieneke & Campos & Balsamo & Plewka & Guidi & Araújo & Garraffoni, 2025

Genus Dendroichthydium gen. nov.

( Figs 2–9)

Diagnosis

Chaetonotidae with a fusiform body measuring 85–250 µm. Head oval and smooth, wide cephalion, large elliptical anterior, lateral epipleura and posterior, ventrolateral hypopleura. Hypostomium is reniform to rectangular, posteriorly to the subterminal mouth. Cuticular ornamentation is homogeneous, with well-organized and densely arranged, very small pedunculated, one-lobed round to elliptical scales, distributed into 50–90 longitudinal columns of 40–80 scales each. Elongated elliptical to fusiform trunk, with a long and narrow cylindrical furcal base sharply separated from the posterior trunk. Elongate, narrow, and laterally curving adhesive tubes, proximally broader and distally tapering. Pharynx cylindrical, with slight dilatations at both ends. Intestine is straight and constant in width, ending on the ventral anus at the furcal base. Ventral field from pharyngeal region to furca base covered with narrow rectangular plates, increasing in width towards mid-trunk, and posteriorly decreasing again towards furcal base. Furcal base naked or dorsally covered with large, short, simple, spined scales.

Autapomorphies

Elongate-rectangular smooth ventral plates covering the whole extension of the ventral pharyngeal and trunk regions (interciliary field) and a pair of long keeled scales lateral to sharply separated, narrow cylindrical furcal base.

Etymology

From the Greek Dendron-, meaning ‘tree’, referring to the peculiar semi-terrestrial and tree-related habitat of its members, and ikhthus + dium, meaning ‘small fish’, referring to the phylogenetically closest genus Ichthodium and Caudichthodium .