Schoutedenichia tanzaniaensis Goff, 1983

Stekolnikov, Alexandr A., 2018, African chiggers (Acariformes: Trombiculidae) in the collection of Alex Fain, with a description of a new genus and three new species, Acarologia 58 (2), pp. 265-286 : 278

Schoutedenichia tanzaniaensis Goff, 1983 , n. syn.

Type material examined — larva paratype ( RMCA 128390 ), No. 3302, from Crocidura sp., CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, Bangui, 4°22′N, 18°35′E, 1965, collected by R. Taufflieb ; larva paratype ( RMCA 128391 ), No. 2383, from Mastomys sp., CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, Bangui, 1965, collected by R. Taufflieb .

Additional material examined — 1 larva ( IRSNB) from Lophuromys sikapusi (Temminck) ( Rodentia : Muridae ), DR CONGO, Ituri Province, Wago Mt (= Wago), 1°45′N, 30°40′E, collected by A. Fain.

Distribution — Central African Republic (Bangui, Boukoko), DR Congo (Wago), Tanzania (Dar es Salaam).

Hosts — Mastomys sp., Mus minutoides , Lophuromys sikapusi , Crocidura olivieri occidentalis .

Remarks — This species was found on two species of murid rodents and on a shrew in Central African Republic. Here it is recorded in DR Congo, Tanzania, and L. on sikapusi for the first time.

Schoutedenichia tanzaniaensis Goff, 1983 does not differ from S. musaranei in non-metric characters including chaetotaxy and shape of scutum. Comparison of our measurements of two paratypes and one specimen from IRSNB with metric data from original descriptions ( Taufflieb 1966; Goff 1983) shows that all these specimens obviously belong to one species ( Table 3). Schoutedenichia tanzaniaensis has somewhat larger scutum (variables AW-AP), but this difference fits the usual range of intraspecific variation in chiggers. A slight difference between our measurements of legs and those given by Taufflieb and Goff (Ip = 607 – 619 vs. 567 – 585) could be caused by a difference in the mode of leg measuring (e.g. inclusion or exclusion of extreme parts of coxae or tips of tarsi, presence or absence of an allowance for the legs’ curvature). Therefore, I consider S. tanzaniaensis as a synonym of S. musaranei .