Hypoaspisella asperatus (Berlese) Joharchi & Negm, 2020

Joharchi, Omid & Negm, Mohamed W., 2020, Soil-inhabiting mites of the family Laelapidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Assiut Governorate, Egypt, Zootaxa 4759 (4), pp. 488-510 : 501

Hypoaspisella asperatus (Berlese) , new combination

Figures 34–37 .

Laelaps (Hypoaspis) asperatus Berlese, 1904a: 17 .

Hypoaspis (Hypoaspisella) procerus Karg, 1965: 277 (synonymy by Bregetova, 1977: 506).

Hypoaspis asperatus .— Costa, 1968: 3.

Hypoaspis (Geolaelaps) asperatus .— Bregetova, 1977: 506

Hypoaspis (Pneumolaelaps) asperata .— Karg, 1979: 90; Karg, 1982: 245; Karg, 1993: 149; Faraji et al., 2008: 208. Pneumolaelaps asperatus .— Kazemi & Rajaei, 2013: 93.

Specimens examined. Two females; 27°11’ N, 31°09’ E, Assiut University, Assiut; 18 July 2016; coll. M.W. Negm; ex. soil under pomegranate.

Remarks. Hypoaspisella asperatus was described from Italy ( Berlese, 1904a). It has been found from litter and is now recorded from Egypt for the first time, from the soil. Many authors have been considered this species as a member of Hypoaspis (Pneumolaelaps) or Pneumolaelaps . We consider this species as a member of Hypoaspisella based on the most significant morphological character states of the genus: (1) dorsal shield sub-oval, completely covering dorsal idiosoma, bearing 39 pairs of smooth setae (including two pairs of Zx setae between J and Z setae, without unpaired supernumerary seta Jx between J series) ( Fig. 34 ); (2) presternal platelets present, both sternal and genital shields faintly reticulated ( Fig. 35 ); (3) peritremes long extending to coxa I; (4) epistome curved and smooth ( Fig. 36 ); (5) hypostomal groove with five transverse rows of denticles, each row with about 3–5 small teeth ( Fig. 37 ), (6) lateral branches of the internal malae absent ( Fig. 37 ); (7) genu IV with nine setae (2 2/1 3/0 1). Our specimens agree very well with the description given by Costa (1968).

Figures

FIGURES 34–37. DIC micrographs of Hypoaspisella asperatus (Berlese, 1904a) comb. nov., female. 34, idiosoma in dorsal view; 35, idiosoma in ventral view; 36, epistome; 37, subcapitulum.