Marine gastrotrichs from the sandy beaches of the northern Gulf of Mexico: species list and distribution

In this meio-faunistic survey along the northern toast of the Gulf of Mexico, gastrotrichs were found in sand collected mostly from beaches on barrier islands. Sediment from Florida and Alabama contained the largest species number. South Texas collecting sites also hosted a very diverse gastrotrich fauna. Paucitubulate Chaetonotida, previously unreported from the area, accounted for about one half of the 45 species encountered. After comparing locai specimens also with high resolution videosequences of individuals collected from distant geographic regions, the amphi-Atlantic and/or cosmopolitan distribution of 27 of these species, is confirmed.