Cunaxa Von Heyden, 1826

Heyer, Jacob Den & Sergeyenko, Alexey L., 2009, Neotype designation for Cunaxa setirostris (Hermann, 1804) (Acari: Prostigmata: Cunaxidae), Zootaxa 2106, pp. 61-68 : 62

Genus Cunaxa Von Heyden, 1826

Type species: Cunaxa setirostris ( Hermann, 1804)

Scirus Hermann 1804: 62 ; Voight (in Cuvier) 1836: 444; Gervais 1841: 6; Koch 1842: 76–77; Kramer 1877: 245; Berlese 1887: 34 –40; Hull 1918: 37.

Cunaxa Von Heyden 1826: 609 ; Thor & Willmann 1941: 165; Baker & Hoffmann 1948: 230 –241; Baker & Wharton 1952: 193; Meyer & Ryke 1959: 370 –372; Muma 1960: 322; 1961: 19; Heryford 1965: 310; Krantz 1978: 153; Smiley 1975: 238; Den Heyer 1979a: 23; 1979b: 159; 1980: 6; Chaudhri 1977: 41; Chaudhri et al. 1979: 182; Kuznetsov & Livshits 1979: 75; Tseng 1980: 253 –262; Gupta & Ghosh 1980: 194; Smiley 1992: 153; Corpuz-Raros & Garcia 1995: 605.

Type species: Scirus setirostris Hermann, 1804

For a detailed genus concept and description see Den Heyer (1978, 1979a). This genus can be defined as follows: idiosoma dorsally covered with one or two shields; females sometimes devoid of shields. Prodorsal shield, when present, smooth or striated, never reticulated. Palps five segmented, telofemur, genu and tibiotarsus armed with elongate apophysis or spine-like setae on inner margin. Palp telofemur with simple dorsal seta. Tarsi I–IV long, slender, attenuate and with small lobes terminally.

Etymology. The name Cunaxa has never been explained in cunaxid literature. An effort to establish its meaning from Latin by using the first three letters of the name, delivered few explanations but the closest meaning is wedge. The only conclusion we can make is that the palpal tibiotarsi, or the hypognathum, seemed to Von Heyden as being wedge-shaped.