Further data on the Italiana marine gastrotrich fauna.

This study reports on the gastrotrich fauna recorded in 14 new or newly investigated Italian locations, during surveys carried out from 2003-2005. As some of these unpublished faunistic data were included in the chapter devoted to Gastrotricha in the recent check-list of Italian marine species, this paper aims to provide details regarding the locations, people involved, sampling times, characteristics of the surveyed microhabitats and, of course, a list of species found at any single location. The research should be relevant as it provides the first lists of meiobenthic taxa from some protected Italian areas, such as “Area marina protetta di Porto Guaceto” and Asinara island. Other interesting locations, from a faunistic point of view, seem to be Cala Pisana, on the island of Lampedusa, where 16 species were recorded and Pomonte on the island of Elba, home to a dense population of lepidodasyid gastrotrichs that belong to an undescribed genus and species. Overall, it is hoped that the 40 species reported can contribute to debate on the biogeography of the Mediterranean gastrotrichs