From saline to salty? Heterolepidoderma sinus (Chaetonotida, Chaetonotidae) from subsaline coal mine settling ponds

Abstract

Gastrotrichs are a permanent and common element of meiofauna communities. They inhabit wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic niches, including a variety of anthropogenic habitats, such as the sand filters of a cold marine mesocosm (Parent et al. 2001) or palm houses (e.g. Kolicka et al. 2013), and extreme natural habitats like hot springs (Guerne 1888) or hydrothermal vent zones (Kieneke & Zekely 2007).