Mahnertellina, Kontschán, 2020

Kontschán, Jenő, 2020, A second species of the family Eutrachytidae (Acari: Uropodina) in Africa: Mahnertellina paradoxa gen. nov., sp. nov. from the Ivory Coast, Revue suisse de Zoologie 127 (1), pp. 75-81 : 75-76

Mahnertellina gen. nov.

Type species: Mahnertellina paradoxa sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Idiosoma yellowish brown, shape triangular, with a pair of long posterior processes. Marginal shield of dorsal idiosoma reduced at level of posterior processes. Peritremes long, anterior part of prestigmatid section of peritremes with some bends. Genital shield of female scutiform. Internal malae on gnathosoma pilose, setae h1 smooth, other setae on gnathosoma serrate. Setae v1 on palp trochanter situated on a long ventral and apically curved process. Adanal setae long and robust.

Etymology: The new genus is dedicated to Professor Volker Mahnert (1943-2018), an excellent pseudoscorpion specialist and a former director of the Natural History Museum in Geneva ( Schwendinger, 2019). The gender of the new genus name is feminine.

Notes: Up to now only one genus of the family Eutrachytidae is characterized by long posterior processes of the idiosoma: the genus Dicornutophorus Hirschmann, 1979. This genus possesses a pygidial shield and the marginal shield is complete. These two structures are absent in the new genus. The v1 setae on the palp trochanter of previously described eutrachytid mites is situated on the surface of the trochanter, whereas in the new genus this seta is placed on a long and apically curved process. All previously collected specimens of the genus Dicornutophorus are from the Neotropical region ( Bolivia and Brazil; Wiśniewski, 1993), whereas specimens of the new genus and species were found in West Africa.

Zoogeographical note: Till today the African eutrachytids are mostly unknown. The discovery of a second species of this family in Africa indicates that additional closely related species live in the soils of the West African rain forests.