Myrmozercon

Shaw, Matthew D. & Seeman, Owen D., 2009, Two new species of Myrmozercon (Acari: Laelapidae) from Australian ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 2025, pp. 43-55 : 53-54

Key to females of Australian Myrmozercon , modified from Walter (2003)

1. Dorsal shield highly hypertrichous, covered with dense pelage of>100 pairs of short setae; peritreme relatively long, extending to about the anterior margin of coxa II; associated with ground-nesting Iridomyrmex ants............... 2

- Dorsal shield setation hypotrichous to only moderately hypertrichous with a maximum of ca. 50 pairs of setae; peritreme very short to long ................................................................................................................................................ 3

2. Dorsal shield 850 long; marginal setae uniformly short; from Iridomyrmex gracilis (Lowne) in Tasmania................. ....................................................................................................................................................... M . aequalis (Banks)

- Dorsal shield 720 long; setae fringing posterior margin longer, as long as the diameter of tibia IV; from Iridomyrmex innocens Forel in Western Australia.............................................................................................. M . scutellatus (Hull)

3. Dorsal shield with 39–50 pairs of setae; hypertrichy on all coxae, hypertrichous opisthogaster; from arboreal Polyrhachis australis Mayr in South-east Queensland ..................................................................... M . iainkayi Walter

- Dorsal shield with no more than 25 pairs of setae; coxae I–III with standard setation 2:2:2; hypotrichous opisthogaster ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

4. Palp trochanter usually with one seta; coxa IV with one seta; many dorsal setae ciliated; from arboreal Polyrhachis flavibasis Clark in southeast Queensland ....................................................................................... M . burwelli sp. nov.

- Palp trochanter with two setae; coxa IV with two setae; dorsal setae smooth; from an unknown South Australian ant species ............................................................................................................................................ M . beardae sp. nov.