Acaricis, Beard & Gerson, 2009

Beard, J. J. & Gerson, U., 2009, A new flat mite genus, Acaricis (Prostigmata: Tenuipalpidae), from Australian sedges (Cyperaceae), Zootaxa 2073 (2073), pp. 31-44 : 32

Acaricis gen. nov. Beard & Gerson

Type species Acaricis plana Beard & Gerson

Diagnosis. Body elongate, more than twice as long as wide; dorsal opisthosomal setae h2 long and attenuate; setae g1 inserted anterior to setae g2; rostral shield present; palpi four-segmented; setae c1 absent; genua IV nude.

Remarks. Acaricis shares morphological features with the genera Prolixus and Tenuipalpus . All three genera have dorsal setae h2 attenuate. Acaricis shares with Prolixus an elongate body, genua I with two setae, nude genua IV, setae g1 inserted anterior to setae g2; while it shares the presence of a rostral shield with Tenuipalpus . Acaricis differs from both genera in having four palpal segments, as opposed to one to three. Dorsal seta c1 is absent in Acaricis and Prolixus , and present or absent in Tenuipalpus .

Etymology. The feminine “caricis” is Latin for sedge. The genus name Acaricis means from or off a sedge.