Microtritia parahauseri, Niedbała & Starý, 2014

Niedbała, Wojciech & Starý, Josef, 2014, New species of the superfamily Euphthiracaroidea (Acari: Oribatida) from Madagascar and Tanzania, Journal of Natural History 49 (27), pp. 1689-1702 : 1699-1701

Microtritia parahauseri sp. nov.

( Figure 5 )

Material examined

Holotype and five paratypes deposited at DATE from locus typicus: TAN-015, Tanzania, Uluguru Mts , Bunduki village , 22 November 2010, 07°01 ′ 17 ″ S, 37°39 ′ 10 ″ E, 1602 m asl, mid-altitude afromontane deciduous forest, leaf litter sifting, leg. V. Grebennikov, one paratype deposited at ISB from the locality: TAN-017, Tanzania, Uluguru Mts , Bunduki village , 24 November 2010, 07°00 ′ 15 ″ S, 37°37 ′ 50 ″ E, 1848 m asl, mid-altitude afromontane deciduous forest, leaf litter sifting, leg. V. Grebennikov, two paratypes deposited at ISB from the locality: TAN-022, Tanzania, Southern Uluguru Mts , east slope, 7 November 2010, 07°07 ′ 25 ″ S, 37°37 ′ 60 ″ E, 2220 m asl, mid-altitude afromontane deciduous forest, leaf litter sifting, leg. V. Grebennikov, two paratypes deposited at NHMG from the locality: TAN-023, Tanzania, Uluguru Mts, Tchanzema village, 13 November 2010, 07°06 ′ 44 ″ S, 37°36 ′ 16 ″ E, 2258 m asl, mid-altitude afromontane deciduous forest, leaf litter sifting, leg. V. Grebennikov.

Measurements of holotype

Prodorsum: length 202, width 157, height 76, sensillus 45, length of prodorsal setae: interlamellar (in) 10, lamellar (le) 28, rostral (ro) 40; notogaster: length 338, width

202, height 217, length of notogastral setae: c 1 53, c 1 / c 1 – d 1 = 0.6, h 1 and p 1 38; genitoaggenital region 101 × 56, anoadanal region 126 × 45.

Description

Colour yellow. Surface of body punctuated, only posterior part of prodorsum covered with alveoli.

Prodorsum with sensilli broadly spindle shaped, smooth. Prodorsal setae fine, short, distance between lamellar (le) setae slightly greater than between rostral (ro) setae; rostral (ro) setae relatively far from distal end of prodorsum; mutual length of prodorsal setae: ro <le> in.

Notogaster with notogastral setae fine, flexible, short, mutual length c 1 <c 1 – d 1, setae c 1 – 3 remote from anterior margin of notogaster, setae c 2 more than others; fissura terminalis absent.

Ventral region with four pairs of genital setae, no one situated in progenital position, aggenital setae absent. Anal setae an 2 and an 3 absent, adanal setae ad 1 and ad 2 the longest. Lyrifissures iad situated anteriorly of adanal setae ad 3.

Etymology

The prefix ‘ para ’ is Latin meaning ‘near’ and refers to some similarity of the new species with Microtritia hauseri Mahunka, 1993 .

Comparison

The new species is distinguishable from congeners by the unusual absence of the anal setae an 2 and an 3. It is similar to Microtritia hauseri Mahunka, 1993 by the shape of sensilli and the presence of four pairs of genital setae, but is distinguishable by more broad sensilli, a distance between the rostral (ro) setae smaller than between the lamellar (le) setae (versus considerably more in the new species), not one genital setae is situated in a progenital position (versus setae g 1 and g 2 positioned in a progenital position in the new species), genua IV with setae d (versus absence of setae d in the new species) ( Mahunka 1993).

Figures

Figure 5. Microtritia parahauseri sp. nov., holotype: (A) prodorsum, dorsal view; (B) lateral view of body; (C) ventral plates, left side; (D) posterior end of ventral plates.