Palpipalpus Beard and Seeman

Beard, Jennifer J., Seeman, Owen D. & Bauchan, Gary R., 2014, Tenuipalpidae (Acari: Trombidiformes) from Casuarinaceae (Fagales), Zootaxa 3778 (1), pp. 1-157 : 80-81

Palpipalpus Beard and Seeman gen. nov.

Type species. Palpipalpus hesperius Beard and Seeman

Diagnosis. All life stages: dorsal opisthosoma with 13 pairs of strongly barbed setae; c2, d2, e2, and f2 present; setae e2 and f2 inserted in more-or-less marginal position; setae h2 similar in size and form to other dorsal setae; palps 5-segmented, setal formula 0, 0, 0, 2, 3(1); immature stages with anterior margin of prodorsum smoothly rounded, without projections/notches; ventral plate absent; 2 pairs of pseudanal setae (ps1–2) on weakly developed anal plates. Adult female: gnathosoma partially concealed by anterior margin of prodorsum (also in male); anterior margin of prodorsum with 1 pair of rounded lobes anterior to, but not bearing, setae v2 (also in male); genital plate weakly developed, membranous; metapodal plates not developed; coxae I without 1c; trochanters I–IV 1-1 -2-1; femora I–IV 3-3 -2-1; genua 2-2-0-0 (setae d and l′′ present); tibiae 4-4-3-3; tarsi I–IV with tc′′. Solenidia of male much thicker and longer than in female.

Etymology. The name Palpipalpus is derived from palpus (a feeler) and is repeated to emphasise and allude to the swollen sensory solenidia of the palps and tarsi I–II in the male.

Remarks. Palpipalpus most closely resembles Crossipalpus , with both genera sharing males with enlarged solenidia and only two pairs of ps setae. Palpipalpus differs to Crossipalpus by the presence of prodorsal lobes, seta tc′′ on tarsi I–IV, seta f2 on the dorsal opisthosoma, and the palp tibial seta (all absent in Crossipalpus ).