Uroiphis Berlese

Mašán, Peter & Halliday, Bruce, 2010, Review of the European genera of Eviphididae (Acari: Mesostigmata) and the species occurring in Slovakia 2585, Zootaxa 2585, pp. 1-122 : 84-85

Genus Uroiphis Berlese

Uroiphis Berlese, 1903: 245 . Type species Uroiphis scabratus Berlese, 1903 , by original designation.

Bactriphis Athias-Henriot, 1980 . Type species Bactriphis bacillatus Athias-Henriot, 1980 , by monotypy. New synonymy.

Diagnosis (adults). Dorsal idiosoma ( Figs 149, 159, 161, 163). Idiosoma subglobular, almost hemispherical in females, dorso-ventrally flattened in males. Dorsal shield entire, suboval to subcircular, lateromarginal area more strongly sculptured than central area, not completely covering dorsal idiosoma in female, fused to anterior sections of peritrematal shields anterolaterally, not expanded ventrally, with flat vertex not extending onto ventral surface, with 30 pairs of setae. Sexual dimorphism of dorsal and ventral chaetotaxy well developed (also in deutonymphs). Most dorsal setae modified in female, thick, often elongated, with pilose rounded tip, stick-like; simple, short and needle-like in male. Setae j1 well developed, thick and lanceolate; z1 thin, short, needle-like; in male, z1 located ventrally on vertex. Striate soft integument in female granulated, at least on dorsal and lateral surface adjacent to dorsal shield. Pore-like structures small and subcircular.

Ventral idiosoma ( Figs 150, 160, 162 and 164). Presternal platelets absent. Sternal shield with various degree of sclerotisation, sometimes very weakly sclerotised, almost smooth and transparent, not clearly defined; anterior margin straight, anterolateral corners acuminate; posterior margin and rounded posterolateral corners sometimes weakly sclerotised and indistinct; shield with three pairs of setae and two pairs of pores in female, one or two anterior pairs of setae placed on flat mounds; male sterno-genital shield with four or five pairs of setae. Female with seta st4 and adjacent pore inserted on metasternal platelet. In female, endopodal platelets II–III and III–IV fused or separate, not fused with sternal shield; in male, endopodal platelets II–III fused to sterno-genital shield, endopodals III–IV fused or partly fused to the shield. Epigynal shield relatively long and slender, well defined, slightly constricted medially, acuminate anteriorly, rounded posteriorly, smooth, with a pair of genital setae situated close to posterior margin; genital pores placed on soft integument. Post-genital or post-sternogenital sclerites present. Anal shield free, suboval to subcircular, with three circumanal setae and well developed cribrum; post-anal seta in female thicker than adanal setae, often stick-like. Exopodal platelets I–III absent, exopodals IV present, narrow and curved. Metapodal platelets present. Peritrematal shields well developed along the whole peritreme, with short tapered post-stigmatic section in female, post-stigmatic section in males only vestigial; peritremes short and thick, anterior ends usually reaching posterior or lateral margin of coxa I, rarely shortened to the level of middle of coxa II. Dorsolateral and opisthogastric soft integument in female (and female deutonymph) with increased number of 14 pairs of setae, in male (and male deutonymph) with seven pairs of setae (in both, excluding st 5 in soft integument or on the shield); some setae on female dorsolateral integument modified and similar to those on dorsal shield, these setae in male simple and similar to other ventral setae.

Gnathosoma . Palptarsus without paired macroeupathidia. Cheliceral segments moderately short and stout, cheliceral digits robust (especially in deutonymphs); movable digit with two small subdistal teeth in female, or with one strong subdistal tooth in male and deutonymph. Male with short tubular spermatodactyl directed forward or sideward ( Fig. 174). Epistome with subtriangular base produced into central projection various in length ( Figs 157, 158, 175, 177, 178).

Legs. Setation of legs I-II-III-IV: coxae 2-2-2-1, trochanters 5/6-5-5-5, femora 13-10/11-6-6, genua 11-11- 8-7 and tibiae 11-9/10-7-7 ( Table 3). Male without spur-like setae on legs. Lateral lobes of pulvillus II–IV normal, with rounded margin, not projecting beyond claws ( Fig. 156).

Notes on the genus. The genus Uroiphis was proposed by Berlese (1903), based on deutonymphs and males of two species, the type species U. scabratus Berlese 1903 , and U. striatus Berlese 1903 . Karg (1963) then described the new genus Crassicheles , with type species Iphidoides concentricus Oudemans 1904 and one congeneric species C. holsaticus (Willman 1937) , based on characters of the deutonymph. Evans (1980) first described and illustrated the adult male of C. greeni Evans 1980 and adult female of C. holsaticus , and Athias-Henriot (1980) described the adults of Bactriphis bacillatus Athias-Henriot 1980 . We now know that I. concentricus is a synonym of U. striatus , B. bacillatus is a synonym of U. scabratus , C. holsaticus is also a synonym of U. scabratus , and C. greeni is a member of Uroiphis .

Some of the remaining unknown adult stages of Uroiphis and Crassicheles were then discovered; the female of U. greeni by Makarova (1993), and the male of C. striatus by Samšiňák (1984). We have here added new descriptions of the female of C. striatus , the male of U. scabratus , and the female of a new species Uroiphis montivagus sp. nov. Only the male of U. montivagus remains unknown (see identification keys below).

Some authors have synonymised the genus Uroiphis with Eviphis (e.g. Ryke & Meyer 1957; Shoemake 1970), and Crassicheles with Thinoseius (e.g. Hirschmann 1966a). However, on the basis of the adult stages of Uroiphis and Crassicheles , and study of their type species, we have confirmed the validity of both Uroiphis and Crassicheles . These genera can be distinguishing by the features presented in the Table 6.

The genus Uroiphis consists of two previously known species, which have been recorded mainly from the European continent. One further species is newly described here. They all occur in various temporary substrates as dung, and decaying plant material, and they are phoretic on insects.