Eupatrella bijani Wiles, 1999

Smit, Harry & Pešić, Vladimir, 2014, Water mites from Mount Kinabalu and the Crocker Range, Borneo, Malaysia (Acari: Hydrachnidia), with the description of 34 new species, Zootaxa 3876 (1), pp. 1-71 : 9

Eupatrella bijani Wiles, 1999

( Figs. 3A–E )

New records. 0/2/0, Liwagu River at crossing with summit, Mt Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia, 6º 01.868 N, 116º 32.912 E, alt. 1919 m asl., 11-ix-2012; 0/1/0, Small stream Layang Layang, Mt Kinabalu, 6º 0 2.711 N 116º 33.627 E, alt. 2697 m asl, 12-ix-2012.

Description. Female (male unknown): As the original description lacks figures of chelicerae and gnathosoma, we give additional figures and measurements based on two females from Borneo (a larger, mature, and a juvenile [indicated by larger sclerite pores and a weaker sclerotization, see Figs. 3A–B ]).

Measurements (mature specimen, in parentheses juvenile; [in square parentheses measurements from Wiles 1999])—Idiosoma (ventral view: Fig. 3B ) length 1390–1584 (1013) [460], width 988–1206 (700) [300]; distance between anterior tip of Cx-I and posterior margin of Cx-IV 759 (650); gonopore length/width 205 (194) [200]/166 (159). Capitulum length 258 (244) [141]; chelicera total length 489 (483), basal segment length 319 (305), claw length 185 (194), basal segment/claw length ratio 1.7 (1.57); Palp ( Fig. 3E ): total length 415 [325], dorsal length/ height, dorsal length/height ratio: P1, 55/35, 1.6 [46/-, -]; P2, 85/51, 1.68 (89/52, 1.7) [65/-, -]; P3, 69/51.5, 1.34 (71/53, 1.34) [54/-, -]; P4, 157/37, 4.2 (152/40, 3.8) [130/-, -]; P5, 49/16, 3.0 (48/28, 2.65) [30/-, -]; length P2/P4 ratio 0.54 (0.59) [0.5]. Legs: dorsal length of I-leg-2–5: 131 (116), 116 (116) [78], 159 (158) [130], 180 (177) [95], 208 (197) [147]; dorsal length of IV-leg: 131 (131), 119 (116), 144 (144) [78], 297 (294) [260], 272 (269) [217], 259 (250) [183].

Remarks. The two female specimens from this study match the general morphology of Eupatrella bijani Wiles, 1999 , described from S. Bersih, a tributary of the River Belalong in Brunei Darussalem. Wiles’ (1999) measurements of idiosoma (length 460, width 300) are in contradiction compared with the specimens in our study, but also with the gonopore length (200) in the original description. While the idiosoma size of our specimens exceed by more than 100% dimensions given by Wiles (1999), the gonopore length is in good agreement with the original description. Most probably the measurements of idiosoma in Wiles (1999) are mistaken by a factor of about two.

Distribution. Borneo ( Wiles 1999, present study).

Figures

FIGURE 3 A – E. Eupatrella bijani Wiles, 1999, Liwagu River, female (A – B smaller specimen, C – E larger specimen): A = idiosoma, dorsal view; B = idiosoma, ventral view; C = chelicera; D = capitulum; E = palp. Scale bars = 100 Μm.