Anisitsiellides australis, Smit, Harry, 2002

Smit, Harry, 2002, Rheophilic water mites from southern Argentina, with the description of one new genus and three new species (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Zootaxa 103, pp. 1-23 : 3-6

Anisitsiellides australis n. sp.

( Figs. 1­ 4 )

Material examined

Holotype female: Arroyo Guanaco, Tierra del Fuego National Park, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, 29 November 1999 ( MBR).

Description

Female: body 754 long and 607 wide. Dorsal and ventral shields present, dorsal shield 701 long and 494 wide. Dorsal shield with postocularia and four pairs of laterally situated glandularia ( Fig. 2 ). Dorsal furrow relatively wide, with one pair of glandularia anteriorly and four pairs posteriorly. Capitular bay V­shaped. Suture line between first and second coxal plates incomplete, not reaching medial suture line ( Fig. 1 ). The so­called glandularia of third coxal plates are situated far anteriorly, near suture of second coxal plates, but these glandularia not situated near lateral body margin. Gonopore 162 long and 494 wide. Lengths of PI­PV: 22, 82, 58, 120, 28. PII with one ventral seta, PIV with a straight ventral margin, ventral setal tubercle only slightly enlarged ( Fig. 3 ). Lengths of I­leg­4­6: 100, 98, 90. Lengths of IV­leg­4­6: 138, 140, 79. IV­leg­5 with two long setae, one 267 long, the other much shorter, 168 long ( Fig. 4 ). IV­leg­6 without claws, distally with two subterminal setae.

Male: unknown.

Etymology

The new species is named for its southern occurrence.

Remarks

The new species differs from the known species from South America in the two long, unequal setae of IV­leg­5. In the other South American species, these setae are of almost the same length. Moreover, PIV of the new species has a ventral setal tubercle which is not very enlarged, a character which it shares with A. monticolus Lundblad , a species known from Colombia. The latter species is larger, and also palp and leg segments are larger. Moreover, the suture line of the first and second coxal plates of A. monticolus is complete.

Figures

FIGURES 1 ­ 2. Anisitsiellides australis sp. nov., holotype female. 1, ventral view; 2, dorsal view. Scale lines 200 µm

FIGURES 3 ­ 4. Anisitsiellides australis sp. nov., holotype female, 3, palp + capitulum; 4, IV­leg­ 5 ­ 6. Scale lines 50 µm