Salfacarus robustipes Van der Hammen 1977

Ma. Magdalena Vázquez G. & Hans Klompen, 2010, The genus Salfacarus (Acari: Opilioacarida) in Madagascar, Zootaxa 2482, pp. 1-21 : 5

Salfacarus robustipes Van der Hammen 1977

Salfacarus robustipes Van der Hammen 1977: 60 , figs. 9–11

Diagnosis (as listed by Van der Hammen (1977)): (1) strong development of the legs, specifically legs IV, which in the female are longer than legs I, (2) long papilliform setae on the posterior legs, and (3) pale terminal part of legs IV. Character (1) is a significant character, as we did not observe that state in any of the Salfacarus specimens examined (important caveat: many of our specimens have lost legs I, making our sampling size smaller than hoped for). Notably, Van der Hammen did not observe this unusual state in the deutonymph. Character (2) specifically concerns the relative length of the laterodorsal setae on tibiae IV. They are as long as, or longer than, the diameter of the tibia in S. robustipes , while shorter in all other Salfacarus . Measurements on specimens from all available collecting localities confirm the value of character (2). The ratio of the laterodorsal setae on tibia IV to width of tibia IV is somewhat variable within species (ratio 0.6– 0.9, N=12, 8 collection localities), but never exceeds 1 except in one case: a male collected from the type locality (ratio 1.2). Even though the length of legs IV in this specimen does not exceed that of legs I (as in DN?), the absolute lengths of legs II–IV correspond very well with those listed for the female by Van der Hammen. We tentatively assign this specimen to S. robustipes . As this instar was not previously described, we can add the following: dorsal shield with approximately 170 papilliform setae, rostrum broad, pregenital area with 7 stout, ribbed (= papilliform of Van der Hammen 1966) setae, genital area with 8 ribbed, tapering setae. Basic measurements in table I. Character (3) may be valid, but does not work well with the cleared specimens available in this study.

Remarks: Van der Hammen (1977) notes that the PN carries 11 setae on the preanal segment. This would be quite unusual, as we never found more than 3 setae on that segment in all of our material. Perhaps he was dealing with a DN.

Collection information. This species was described from a single locality: MADAGASCAR: Antananarivo, Tampoketsa d’Ankazobe , Forêt d'Ambohitantely (18°10’ S 47°17’ E), coll Betsch, J M, 10 Apr 1967, ex litter (2 F) ; same data, 27 Jun 1967 (1TNf, 1 DN, 1PN).

New material: MADAGASCAR: Antananarivo, 4.1 km 59° NE d'Ankazobe, R.S. d'Ambohitantely, Jardin Botanique, 1620 m, 18°10’17”S 47°16’55”E, coll. Fisher, B L & Griswold, C E, 17–20 Apr 2001, ex montane rain forest (EBO09, BLF3720): M (3 slides, OSAL007787–7788 , 7790 ) . Specimen at CAS.