Oppiella (Oppiella) nova ( Oudemans, 1902 )

Nakamura, Y. - N., Fukumori, S. & Fujikawa, T., 2010, Oribatid Fauna (Acari, Oribatida) From The Kumaya Cave Of Iheya Village In Central Ryukyu Arc, South Japan, With A Description Of Several New Species, Acarologia 50 (4), pp. 439-477 : 446-447

Oppiella (Oppiella) nova ( Oudemans, 1902)

[Japanese name: Namitsubudani] ( Fig. 5 and Plate 2)

Eremaeus novus Oudemans, 1902, Tijdschr. Ent.,

46, pp. 6-7, pl. 2, fig. 22.

Oppia nova: van der Hammen, 1952 , Zool. Verh.,

No.17, pp. 51-52, fig. 6a.

Oppiella nova: Hammer, 1968 , Biol. Skr. Dan. Vid. Selsk., 16(2), p. 13; Fujikawa, 1981, Edaphologia, (24), p. 20, figs. 1 and 2; Fujikawa, 1999, Edaphologia, (62), pp. 23-28, figs. 12-19 and 21-28, tables 1 and 4.

Oppiella (Oppiella) nova: Subías, 2004 , Graellsia, 60, p.128.

Diagnosis — Body length 314 µm; width 150 µm. Parallel lamellar ridges connected with transversal ridge. Medial anterior part of notogaster not extending anterior crista. Setae c 2 glabrous. Epimeral grooves I, II and IV distinct. Setae ft ’ on tarsi I long.

Material examined — One female (NSMT-Ac 13589): from point A.

Measurements — Body length 314 µm; width 150 µm. Body colour light yellow brown.

Supplementary description — Morphological variation in form of lamellar region, anterior part of notogaster, setae c 2 and epimeral region, type A, A, A, and C, respectively (Pl. 2). The nomenclature used in the Figs. 15 and 16 is the one used by Fujikawa (1999).

Distribution — Cosmopolitan.

Remarks — The examined specimen has longer setae ft ’ on tarsi I than that of specimens collected in a nature farm in Hokkaido ( Fujikawa, 1981) ( Fig. 5 ). The present species is known as fungivorous, parthenogenetic and cosmopolitan species, with a fossil history of about 8,000 years ago ( Karppinen and Koponen, 1973). Only the present species has been found in a deep horizontal drift of gold mine (Fujikawa, private information). Only the present species was collected from the point A where the wall and floor were covered with only sand or fragment of psephite without organic matter. It was observed that a total of 12,803 adults were issued from one female (for twelve years) and that this species was able to crawl in any crevice ( Fujikawa, 1999). While Tectocepheus velatus ( Michael, 1880) was not found from crevice the species rared with the same condition with O. nova .

Figures

FIGURE 5: Oppiella (Oppiella) nova (Oudemans, 1902) Solenidial region of tarsus I.

FIGURE 15: Oribatula kumayaensis sp. nov. A, Prodorsum; B, Anterior half of ventral region; C, Solenidial region on tarsus and tibia of leg I.

FIGURE 16: Oribatula kumayaensis sp. nov. A, Right half of notogaster; B, Genito-anal region.