Podotarsonemus ecuadorensis Seeman, Lindquist & Husband, 2018

Seeman, Owen D., Lindquist, Evert E. & Husband, Robert W., 2018, A new tribe of tarsonemid mites (Trombidiformes: Heterostigmatina) parasitic on tetrigid grasshoppers (Orthoptera), Zootaxa 4418 (1), pp. 1-54 : 26-28

Podotarsonemus ecuadorensis Seeman, Lindquist & Husband sp. nov.

Figures 13–14 , 15C

Type material. Holotype. Adult female. ECUADOR, Puyo Napo-Pastaza Prov., 2500’ alt., R.W. Hodges, 18 Apr. 1958, ex Batrachidea mucronata , RWH 18102010 (slide 7). In A. J. Cook Entomology Museum of Michigan State University.

Paratypes. 1 female, 4 males, same data as holotype. In UMMZ except 1 male in each of CNCI and QM.

Non-type material. 2 pharate females, 2 larvae, same data as holotype. Larvae in very poor condition, not described. In UMMZ.

Diagnosis. Female and male: Palps with 1 seta; chelicerae without teeth; prodorsal plate punctate; femora I–II with rudimentary setae lʹ, d; genua II–III bare; tarsus II with 5 setae, with seta uʹʹ, tarsus III with 4 setae, lacking seta u″; trochanter IV bare. Female: Setae sc1 present; vestigial setae v2 expressed as alveoli within prodorsal shield; coxisternal plates III–IV separated by soft cuticle; setae h attenuate,> 70 long; femorogenu IV with 2 setae; tracheal atria separate, post-atrial sac lightly sclerotized, not punctate. Male: Genital capsule without copulatory flanges; setae h1 rudimentary, like h2; leg I with tibia and tarsus separate; femorogenu IV bare; tibia IV with solenidion and small vʹ; tarsus IV absent.

Description. ADULT FEMALE ( Figures 13 , 15C, n = 2 measured; specimens distorted and fragmented to some extent, so only diagnostic features are illustrated)

Gnathosoma . Length 56–57, width 60–61. Palps 13–14, with 1 apical seta 4. Cheliceral stylets 22–25, without teeth. Pharynx length 31–35, width 14–16. Dorsal setae ch 30–32, ventral setae su 19–23, palpcoxal setae e 6–7.

Idiosoma . Length and width not measureable. Tracheal atria separate, post-atrial sac lightly sclerotized, not punctate, terminal tracheae separate. Prodorsal plate with punctate sculpturing, 96–100 long, 135–137 wide; with 3 pairs of setae: v 1 29–30, thickened, with small barbs, sc 1 19–25, sc2 90 and vestigial v2. Distance between setae v1-v1 54 –56, v2-v2 66 –68, sc1-sc1 118, sc2-sc2 78– 85, v1 -sc 2 23–31. Plates C, D, EF with punctate sculpturing. Setae c1, d, e, f thickened, blunt, with small barbs, c1 27, c2 59–65, d 25, e 23–24, f 23–24. Distance between setae c1-c1 not measureable, c2-c2 195, c1-c2 33–37, d-d 79–93, e-e 67–68, f-f 36–41. Setae h attenuate,> 70. Distance between setae h-h 30. Cupules ia, im, ih not visible or absent. Setae ps attenuate> 100, distance between setae psps 10. Coxisternal setae short to attenuate, 1a 5–21, 2a 10–32, 3a> 100, 3b> 30; alveolar vestiges of setae 1b and 2b present. Distances between setae impossible to measure accurately.

Legs. Leg lengths: I 61 –63, II 67 –71, III 67 –70. Leg IV Fe-Ge length 32–33, Ti-Ta length 26–28. Leg III, femur and genu fused.

Femur I, setae lʹ, d rudimentary, lʹʹ 16–17, vʹʹ 24–27; genu I lʹ 11–20, lʹʹ 20–21, vʹ 13–14, vʹʹ 12–17; tibia and tarsus I fused, tibial setae d 45–47, lʹ 18–20, l″ 15, vʹ 15–19, vʹʹ 16, solenidion φ 6, tarsal setae tcʹ 17–20, tcʹʹ 17–20, pvʹ 19–20, pvʹʹ 14–17, s spine-like, 8, solenidion ω 8–10.

Femur II lʹ, d rudimentary, vʹʹ 16–19; tibia II d 30–35, lʹ 24–34, vʹ 30–31, vʹʹ 26–27; tarsus II tcʹ 22–25, tcʹʹ 28– 29, pvʹ 20–23, uʹ spine-like, 7–8, uʹʹ 6–8, solenidion ω 7.

Tibia III d 37, lʹ 21–26, vʹ 28–34, vʹʹ 28; tarsus III tcʹ 27–33, tcʹʹ 35–41, pvʹ 30, uʹ spine-like, 6–8.

Femorogenu IV with short proximal femoral seta vʹ 10–16, and fine distal genual seta vʹ 26–30; tibiotarsus with attenuate ventral tibial seta 90 and terminal tarsal seta> 200.

ADULT MALE ( Fig. 14 , n = 4 measured)

Gnathosoma . Similar to female. Length 35–40, width 36–40. Palps 8–9. Cheliceral stylets 15–18, without teeth. Pharynx length 25–30, width 12–13. Dorsal setae 13–15, ventral setae 10–14, palpcoxal setae 7.

Idiosoma . Length 160–180, width 147–150. Prodorsal plate smooth, 61–82 long, 97–112 wide; with 3 pairs of setae, v 1 10–11, sc1 6–9, sc2 34–37 and vestigial v2. Distance between setae v1-v 1 25–28, v2-v2 36 –41, sc1-sc1 56–69, sc2-sc2 49– 60, v1 -sc2 40. Plate CD smooth. Setae sparsely barbed, setae c1 11, c 2 25–35, d 11–12; setae c1 obliquely aligned between setae c2 and d. Plate EF smooth, e 4–5, f 4–5. Distance between setae c1-c1 65–84, c2- c2 111–130, c1-c 2 23–27, d-d 24, e–e 18, f-f 9. Cupules ia, im present. Genital capsule 33–34 long, 30–31 wide, bearing alveolar remnants of h1, h2; ventral flanges absent. Coxisternal setae 1a short, 2a, 3a, 3b short to attenuate, 1a 4–6, 2a 20–40, 3a 100, 3b> 70. Distance between setae 1a-1a 10–13, 2a-2a 21–32, 3a-3a 20, 3b-3b 23; setae 1a at level of ap1, setae 2b at level of or just posterior to ap2. Apodemes: ap2 not reaching medially obsolete ap sj; ap5 extend anteriorly 34–39 from base, not fused medially.

Legs. Leg lengths: I 47, II 46, III 45, IV 30–31. Leg III, femur and genu fused.

Femur I, lʹ, lʹʹ, d rudimentary, vʹʹ 10–13; genu I lʹ 2–4, lʹʹ 2–3, vʹ 2, vʹʹ 5–7; tibia and tarsus I fused, tibial setae d 20–24, lʹ 7–10, lʹʹ 2–3, vʹ 6–7, vʹʹ 10–11, solenidion φ 4–5, tarsal setae ftʹ 13–14, ftʹʹ 12–13, tcʹ 13, tcʹʹ 12, pvʹ 9–10, pvʹʹ 6–7, s spine-like, 5, solenidion ω 7.

Femur II lʹ, d rudimentary, vʹʹ 6–7; tibia II d 19, lʹ 10, vʹ 14, vʹʹ 23; tarsus II tcʹ 17, tcʹʹ 20–22, pvʹ 12, uʹʹ 7–8, uʹ spine-like, 9, solenidion ω 9.

Tibia III d 19–26, lʹ 11–13, vʹ 19–25, vʹʹ 23–27; tarsus III tcʹ 20–23, tcʹʹ 16–20, pvʹ 10–15, uʹ spine-like, 6–7. Femorogenu IV bare; tibia IV vʹ 2–3, solenidion φ 10–12; tarsus IV absent.

Etymology. The species name ecuadorensis refers to the country where the type specimens were collected.

Remarks. Podotarsonemus ecuadorensis is most similar to P. boliviensis and is differentiated in the Differential diagnosis for that species. However, the separation of these species is complicated by several female specimens from Ecuador and Honduras, as discussed below under the specimens referred to as Podotarsonemus sp.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Podotarsonemus ecuadorensis sp. nov. female. (A) prodorsum; (B) tarsus II; (C) ventral gnathosoma.

FIGURE 14. Podotarsonemus ecuadorensis sp. nov. male, dorsum.

FIGURE 15. Podotarsonemus boliviensis sp. nov. female. (A, B) respiratory system; (D) Plates C and D, aberrant specimen. Podotarsonemus ecuadorensis sp. nov. (C) respiratory system.st = stigmata, at = atrium, pa = post-atrial chamber.