Schizocarpus heideckei, Bochkov, Andre V. & Saveljev, Alexander P., 2012

Bochkov, Andre V. & Saveljev, Alexander P., 2012, Fur mites of the genus Schizocarpus Trouessart (Acari: Chirodiscidae) from the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber tuvinicus Lavrov (Rodentia: Castoridae) in the Azas River (Tuva Republic, Russia), Zootaxa 3410, pp. 1-18 : 9-10

4. Schizocarpus heideckei sp. nov.

( Fig. 5 )

Description. MALE (holotype). Body 375 long (370–380 in ten paratypes) and 175 wide (170-175); body length/ width ratio about 2.1:1. Idiosoma slightly flattened dorso-ventrally. Hysterosoma subparallel sided. Hysteronotal shield 105 long and 90 wide. Anterior margin of hysteronotal shield distinctly concave in median part. Setae d1 situated close to anterior margin of hysteronotal shield, distance d1-d1 50. Setae e1 situated at posterior margin of hysteronotal shield. Distance e1-e1 about 40. Setae h1 widely separated from each other, distance h1-h1 about 1.7 times longer than e1-e1. Setae f2 situated dorsally, distance h1-f2 about 15. Setae h3 widely separated from each other, distance h3-h3 80. Opisthosomal membranes moderately developed, about 15 long. Setae ps3 situated laterally, anterior to transverse level of adanal suckers. Adanal shields poorly sclerotized. Setae ad1 represented by alveoli and situated posterior to adanal suckers. Centre of alveoli ad1 located slightly inside than centre of adanal suckers. Distance between adanal sucker and seta ad1 less than diameter of adanal sucker. Adanal suckers situated in median part of adanal shields, 10-12 in diameter, with smooth corolla (type A), each surrounded by highly sclerotized punctate ring, this ring at least 2 times narrower than adanal suckers. Large almost ‘butterfly-shaped’ median sclerite present between adanal shields. Adanal suckers and alveoli ad1 enclosed between lateral arms of this sclerite. Setae ps1 pedunculate, located on posterior arms of median sclerite immediately posterior to alveoli ad1. Adanal setae ad2 absent. Ventral anal sclerite indistinct. Lengths of some setae: f2 and h1 about 20, h2 180, h3 70, ps2 and ps3 about 50. Tarsus III 25 long and 12 wide; tarsus IV about 12 long and 12 wide.

Type material. Holotype male ( ZISP T-Chir-24 ) and 15 male paratypes ( ZISP AVB-2012-0203-037, #1-15 ) ex Castor fiber tuvinicus [beaver #2, sample 11], RUSSIA: Tuva, Todzhinskii District , upstream water of Azas River , 52º25’N, 96º38’E, 9 October 2011, coll. A.P. Saveljev; 7 male paratypes ( ZISP AVB- 2012-0203-038, #1-7), beaver #2, sample 10, same data; 1 male paratype ( ZISP AVB- 2012-0203-039), beaver #2, sample 3, same data; 1 male paratype ( ZISP AVB- 2012-0203-040), beaver #2, sample 5, same data; 1 male paratype ( ZISP AVB- 2012- 0203-041), beaver #5, sample 12, downstream of Azas River, 52º32’N, 97º15’E, 17 October 2011, coll. A.P. Saveljev.

Type depositions. Holotype and 20 paratypes—in ZISP, three paratypes—in UMMZ, two paratypes—in IRSNB.

Microhabitat. Anterior legs and anterior abdomen, one mite from neck dorsally, posterior dorsum, and flank.

Distribution. Azas River.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to the well known German zoologist Dr. Dietrich Heidecke (1945-2011).

Differential diagnosis. This new species is very close to form intercalatus of the species S. brachyurus ( Dubinina, 1964) known from several hosts: C. f. orientoeuropaeus in Voronezh Reserve (Russia) ( Dubinina 1964), a Eurasian beaver of unknown origin ( Fain & Lukoschus 1985), C. f. belorussicus from Poland ( Bochkov et al. 2012), and C. f. tuvinicus from Tuva (present paper) (see Fig. 8 and remarks on this species below). In the new species and this form, alveoli ad1 and pedunculate setae ps1 are situated posterior to the adanal suckers, setae ps1 are located immediately posterior to alveoli ad1, setae f2 are situated dorsally, setae ps3 are located laterally, anterior to the transverse level of adanal suckers, and each adanal sucker is surrounded by a highly sclerotized punctate ring. These species differ from each other in the following characters. In S. heideckei sp. nov., the adanal shields are weakly sclerotized, including borders, a large ‘butterfly-shaped’ median sclerite is present, the adanal suckers and alveoli ad1 are enclosed between the lateral arms of this sclerite. In S. brachyurus (form intercalatus ), the borders of the adanal shields are distinctly sclerotized and the ‘butterfly-shaped’ median sclerite is absent.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Schizocarpus heideckei sp. nov., male: A—opisthosoma in dorsal view; B—same, in ventral view.

FIGURE 8. Variation in positions of ventral opisthosomal setae and shape of adanal shield in males of Schizocarpus brachyurus (Dubinina, 1964). Positions of these structures being typical for the forms intercalatus and parabrachyurus are labeled, respectively.