Halolaspis hypedon Mašán & Halliday

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 : 61-63

Halolaspis hypedon Mašán & Halliday

( Figs 78, 93, 106–108)

Halolaspis hypedon Mašán & Halliday, 2009a: 51 . Amendments to diagnosis (female). Dorsal idiosoma ( Fig. 107). Idiosoma 665–730 µm long, suboval to lemon-shaped in outline. Dorsal shield 595–640 µm long, with subparallel lateral margins; posterior margin almost truncate or only moderately convex; the shield narrowest at level of humeral angles. Dorsal setae mostly smooth and needle-like, medial dorsocentral setae 19–25 µm long, somewhat shorter than lateral (26– 36 µm) and markedly shorter than marginal setae (37–49 µm); j1 shorter, 8–12 µm long; J5 short, 7–14 µm long, thick, with rounded tips.

Ventral idiosoma ( Fig. 108). Sternal shield narrow, 115–125 µm long, longer than wide, surface smooth; anterior margin undulate, with two projecting lobes anterior to setae st1, anterolateral corners obtuse; posterior margin straight or slightly concave, with rounded posterolateral corners; the shield with short needle-like setae: setae st1 27–30 µm long and inserted on a pair of small flat protuberances, setae st2 and st3 31–34 µm long; second pair of sternal pores located very close to lateral margins of the shield. Epigynal shield 72–82 µm wide, with rounded posterior margin and surface almost smooth. Anal shield suboval, 115–130 µm wide, slightly wider than long, with some sculptural lines on surface; anterior margin widely rounded; bearing three circum-anal setae and a pair of pores; anus situated close to anterior margin. Anterior end of peritremes projecting beyond coxae I. Anterior sections of peritrematal shields wide, overlapping onto dorsum and completely fused with anterolateral margins of dorsal shield, not fused with each other ventrally; post-stigmatic sections narrow ( Fig. 93). Elongate metapodal and exopodal platelets IV present; a pair of narrow post-genital sclerites present between epigynal and anal shields. Opisthogastric integument striated, with complex spicu- late-reticulate pattern of ornamentation. Length of the longest ventral setae 55–65 µm. Idiosoma terminally with distinct rounded projection.

Gnathosoma . Chelicerae slender, with elongated proximal segment and bidentate movable digit ( Fig. 78). Epistome as in Fig. 106.

Legs. Legs I–IV with well-developed pretarsi and claws. Chaetotaxy as in Table 3. All leg setae short, most dorsal setae conspicuously thickened.

Remarks. Halolaspis is a monotypic genus that has been found only in Slovakia. The single species has been found in the nests of the dung beetle Copris lunaris in grassland soil. It was erroneously reported from Slovakia, under the name Iphidosoma pratensis , by Mašán (1994b). Mašán & Halliday (2009a) compared the holotype of I. pratensis with the material published from Slovakia, and found that they are clearly not conspecific.

Occurrence in Slovakia. Published data. Trnavská Pahorkatina Wold: Brunovce [7373] ( Mašán 1994b, published as Iphidosoma pratensis by Mašán & Halliday 2009a).