''Opydorscus fonsecae'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

tardigrade Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them . In 1776, th ...

s. It is the only species in the genus ''Opydorscus'', part of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Halechiniscidae The Halechiniscidae are a family of tardigrades. The family was named and first described by Gustav Thulin in 1928. Subfamilies and genera They are divided into the following subfamilies and genera: * Dipodarctinae Pollock, 1995 ** ''Dipodarctus ...

and the subfamily Orzeliscinae. The species has been found on the Brazilian coast of the

South Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

.Opydorscus fonsecae

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

The genus and the species were named by

Jeanne Renaud-Mornant Jeanne Renaud-Mornant, Born Jeanne Renaud, Jeanne Renaud-Debyser before her second marriage (8 August 1925 Vellexon – 18 September 2012, Paris) was a French biologist specialising in meiofauna. Biography Jeanne Renaud-Mornant began her car ...

in 1983.

References

Further reading