Hygrobates (Hygrobates) draconicus, Smit, 2005

Smit, Harry, 2005, Water mites of the family Hygrobatidae Koch from southern Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Journal of Natural History 39 (38), pp. 3369-3405 : 3374-3377

Hygrobates (Hygrobates) draconicus sp. nov.

( Figures 5–7 )

Material examined

Holotype: male, Poacher’s Stream , Injisuti, Drakensbergen, Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa, alt. 1512 m a.s.l., 29 ° 08.141 9 S, 29 ° 26.149 9 E, 19 November 2004 ( BMSA) . Paratype: male, Old Women’s Stream , Injisuti, Drakensbergen, Kwazulu-Natal Province, South Africa, alt. 1467 m a.s.l., 29 ° 07.181 9 S, 29 ° 26.476 9 E, 19 November 2004 ( ZMAN) .

Description

Male. Idiosoma 518 long and 389 wide, soft, finely striated. Capitulum fused with first coxal plates, first coxal plates fused medially. Apodemes of anterior coxal plates short, fourth coxal plates with long apodemes. Holotype male not fully sclerotized and therefore margins of coxal plates indistinct. In fully sclerotized paratype male medial margins of fourth coxal plates rounded. Genital field with three pairs of large acetabula. Paratype male aberrant, with two and three acetabula on each side, respectively. Excretory pore terminal. Lengths of PI– PV: 23, 120, 100,194, 64. PII with large, axe-shaped ventral extension, PIII with triangular ventral extension; PIV with short, well-distanced ventral setae. Lengths of Ileg-4–6: 116, 188, 174; I-leg-5 with one blunt, heavy seta. IV-leg-4–6: 240, 280, 204. IVleg-5 with two rudimentary swimming setae, all other legs without swimming setae .

Female. Unknown.

Etymology

Named after its occurrence in the Drakensbergen.

Remarks

The large extension of PII is more or less similar to Hygrobates (Thonia) barbata Halík from East Africa. However, this species has the legs modified, especially on the fourth and fifth segment. No other African Hygrobates species has a similar large extension of PII.

Figures

Figure 5. Hygrobates draconicus sp. nov., holotype male, ventral view. Scale bar: 50 mm.

Figure 6. Hygrobates draconicus sp. nov., holotype male, I-leg-5–6. Scale bar: 50 mm.

Figure 7. Hygrobates draconicus sp. nov., holotype male, palp. Scale bar: 50 mm.