Halolaspis, Mašán, Peter & Halliday, Bruce, 2009

Mašán, Peter & Halliday, Bruce, 2009, Three new genera of the mite family Eviphididae (Acari: Mesostigmata), Zootaxa 2013, pp. 43-57 : 50-51

Halolaspis gen. nov.

(Figs 9−12, 15, 16, 20, 24)

Type species Halolaspis hypedon sp. nov.

Description (female). Dorsal idiosoma. Idiosoma subglobular. Dorsal shield entire, subrectangular, not completely covering dorsal surface; exposing strips of lateral and posterior opisthosomal soft cuticle. Shield fused with anterior ends of peritrematal shields to enclose deep wedge-shaped areas of lateral cuticle. Shield with coarse rugose-verrucose pattern of ornamentation and 30 pairs of setae; pore-like structures small, barely visible. Vertical setae j1 short, columnar, with rounded tips; z1 short, fine, pointed; J4 short, subcolumnar; other dorsal setae smooth and needle-like.

Ven t ra l idiosoma. Presternal platelets absent. Sternal shield well sclerotised, with three pairs of setae and two pairs of pores. First pair of sternal pores small and slit-like. Endopodal platelets II and sternal shield well separated; endopodal platelets III free. Exopodal platelets IV present adjacent to coxae IV. Metasternal platelets absent, metasternal setae st4 and associated pores inserted on soft cuticle. Genital shield with a pair of posterior genital setae, genital pores on soft cuticle. Peritrematal shields well developed, narrow close to stigmata.

Gnathosoma . Palptarsus without paired macroeupathidium. Movable digit of chelicerae bidentate. Tectum with elongated and serrate central projection and short, simple lateral prongs.

Legs. Setation of legs I-II-III-IV: coxae 2-2-2-1, trochanters 6-5-5-5, femora 13-11-6-6, genua 11-11-8-7 and tibiae 11-10-7-7; tarsi II–IV with 18 setae.

Etymology. The name of the new genus is derived from the words Halo - and - aspis, and refers to the separate sternal and endopodal shields, which resemble those found in the family Halolaelapidae .

Notes on the genus. Halolaspis is similar in some respects to Alloseius . Both genera have coarse dorsal shield ornamentaion, a complicated pattern of ornamentation on the lateral and opisthogastric soft cuticle, modified vertical setae j1, bidentate movable digit of the chelicera, and a similar shaped tectum. The two genera differ in the structure of dorsal shield, especially the vertex and the degree of anterolateral podonotalperitrematal fusion, together with the arrangement of the sternal shield and metasternal platelets.