Compactozetes bundjalung, Colloff, 2023

Colloff, Matthew J., 2023, The oribatid mite superfamily Eutegaeoidea (Acari, Oribatida), with descriptions of new taxa from Australia and New Caledonia and a re-assessment of genera and families, Zootaxa 5365 (1), pp. 1-93 : 56-57

Compactozetes bundjalung sp. nov.

( Fig. 28 )

Dimensions. Holotype female length 697 μm, breadth 591 μm. Paratype males (n = 5) mean length 623 μm (range: 566–645 μm); mean breadth 489 μm (range: 480–506 μm). Paratype females (n = 17) mean length 694 μm (range: 656–735 μm); mean breadth 566 μm (range 535–621 μm). Ratio of prodorsum to total length: 0.38 (holotype).

Description of adult. Prodorsum: rostrum entirely covered by lamellae; rostral setae (ro) only visible in ventral aspect, short, smooth, curved, on short tubercles. Lamellae very broad, with reticulate apical microsculpture, posteromedian margins extending as far as dorsosejugal scissure ( Fig. 28a ), lacking lamellar cusp, anterior margin truncated, forming curved, transverse apex, sloping ventrally and fused with each other and rostrum adjacent to tutorium, with large foramina between lamellae and prodorsum, visible in ventral view ( Fig. 28b ). Lamellar seta (le) well-developed, curved medially, smooth, emerging from alveolus on anterior margin of fused lamellae. Interlamellar setae (in) minute, close together lateral to posteromedian mound or bulge. Bothridia corniculate, fused with lamellae. Bothridial seta long, head expanded slightly, with few blunt apical spines.

Notogaster: ratio of length to breadth: 0.75; notogaster rounded, convex, with reticulate cerotegument laterally, becoming granular in centrodorsal region, with faint curved ridges posteriorly. Humeral processes with short anterior section extending as far as bothridia, lateral margin sub-rectangular, extending posteriorly as far as bases of setae lm, with region of four indented, ovoid and lighter areas of cuticle ( Fig. 28a ). Lyrifissures ia and im not visible. With nine pairs of extremely short, smooth setiform notogastral setae in marginal position, sub-equal in length; p series not visible in dorsal aspect. Notogastral margin medial of setae p 1 with median slit.

Ventral aspect: subcapitulum acute; subcapitular setae h extremely long, thin, flagelliform. Tutorium very broad, with two spur-like lobes. Epimeral plates discrete, broadly separated in midline, sub-rectangular to trapezoid, plates I extremely large, plates IV much shorter than I-III; epimeral setation 3-1-3-3 setae very short, sub-equal in length ( Fig. 28b ). Pedotectum I (pd I) massive, curved, with horn-shaped apex; pd II short, rectangular, with a median indentation; discidium broad, lobe-like. Perigenital carina and enantiophysis E4 present; apical portion of perigenital carina reflexed. Ventral plate ovoid, markedly broader than long. Genital and anal plates separated by distance of half length of genital plates; genital plates 85 µm long, with six pairs of short setae, g 1 longer than others, aligned longitudinally; three pairs of very short adanal setae; anal setae barely visible; lyrifissure iad in para-anal position, close to margin of anal plate. Anal plates rectangular, 121 µm long. Pre-anal organ (po) oval.

Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition. This species is named for the Bundjalung People of the Richmond Range on whose ancestral land this species is found.

Type designation, material examined and locality data. Holotype female, ANIC accession no. 53-1069, paratypes: five males, 17 females, ANIC accession no. 53-1071, ANIC 775 , litter, closed forest, Richmond Range State Forest , New South Wales, 28°29’S 152°35’E, 600 m, coll. T. Weir and A. Calder, 13-14.ii. 1983 . Paratypes: two females, ANIC accession no. 53-1070, ANIC 655 A, litter, Nothofagus moorei rainforest, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, Lamington National Park , Queensland, 28°14'S, 153°08'E, 920 m ., coll. J. Lawrence and T. Weir, 22- 27.xi.1978. Lamington National Park .

Diagnosis. Compactozetes bundjalung can be distinguished from other species in the genus by the following combination of characters: (1) the relatively long, recurved lamellar setae; (2) the concave transverse apex of the fused lamellae; (3) the posteromedian mound on the prodorsum; (4) the massive, curved pedotectum I with a sharply pointed apex; (5) the rectangular pedotectum II with a median indentation; (6) the extremely long, thin, flagelliform subcapitular setae h; (7) the sinuous, recurved perigenital carina; (8) the presence of enantiophyses E4; (9) the posterior notogastral margin with a median slit.

Remarks. Compactozetes bundjalung is morphologically most similar to C. niger Hammer, 1966 from New Zealand in the shape of the anterior part of the lamellae, the humeral processes and the lateral margin of the notogaster. It differs in the presence of the mound on the posterior part of the prodorsum, the perigenital carinae and enantiophyses E4 and in its far smaller size: 687 μm long, compared with 1,008 μm long for C. niger .

Figures

FIGURE 28. Compactozetes bundjalung sp. nov., adult (a) dorsal aspect; (b) ventral aspect. Scale bar = 200 μm.