Cyta troglodyta Hernandes, 2011

Hernandes, Fabio A., Bernardi, Leopoldo F. De O. & Ferreira, Rodrigo L., 2011, Snout mites from caves in Brazil, with description of a new species (Acari: Trombidiformes: Bdellidae), Journal of Natural History 45 (13 - 14), pp. 799-812 : 801-811

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222933.2010.535919
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03E387A5-305A-A652-FE7E-FD6AC8DFFE55
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Cyta troglodyta Hernandes
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Cyta troglodyta Hernandes View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figures 1–5 View Figure 1 View Figure 2 View Figure 3 View Figure 4 View Figure 5 )

Description

Male

Measurements of holotype in µm are followed by range for two male paratypes in parenthesis. Body length 968 (957–1111), width 484 (462–539); length of legs I 660 (660–715), legs II 660 (660–715), legs III 770 (759–814), legs IV 880 (880–935); hypostome length 258 (258–286), width 155 (144–166); palp setae ventral end setae 264 (258–277), dorsal end setae 190 (188–204); palp segments: trochanter 19 (19–22), basifemur 177 (171–193), telofemur 27 (27–41), genu 22 (19–22), tibiotarsus 82 (73–84); prodorsal setae vi broken in holotype (277–280), ve 84 (84–95), sci 109 (103–117), sce broken in holotype (389–408), c1 92 (87–98), c2 92 (92–101), d1 90 (84–98), e1 90 (87–95), f1 92 (87–98), f2 98 (95–103), h1 95 (87–98), h2 95 (87–103).

Gnathosoma ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 ). Two pairs of large ventral hypostomal setae (vh1 and vh2), proximal pair 95 (84–90), about twice the length of distal pair 41 (35–41); two pairs of short adoral setae near the tip of gnathosoma, and a small dorsal pair near the base posterior to vh1. Chelicerae with thin longitudinal striae, two dorsal setae, proximal setae 117 (112–117), about twice the length of distal one, 54 (46–52); movable and fixed chelae similar in shape, movable chelae without teeth and slightly shorter than movable ( Figure 1B View Figure 1 ). Setae on palp: trochanter 0, basifemur 4t (proximal seta slightly longer than other setae on segment), telofemur 1t, genu 3t, tibiotarsus 4t, 1s distal, two long end setae (ventral and dorsal end setae).

Dorsum ( Figures 2 View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 ). Central region of prodorsum with continuous longitudinal striae; sparsely broken striae antero-laterad to setae ve ( Figure 2 View Figure 2 ); two pairs of eyes on lateral region of prodorsum, separated by distance approximately 1.7 to 2.5 times diameters of eyes, with transverse striae between each pair; unpaired median eye anterior to setae vi. Prodorsal and hysterosomal regions separated by slightly visible sejugal furrow. Prodorsal apodeme weakly expressed. Hysterosomal setae smooth and thick ( Figure 4 View Figure 4 ), each pair almost reaching bases of subsequent setae behind them. Fine and continuous striae on medial region of hysterosoma; striae continuous along dorsum; cupules in lateral region of hysterosoma, approximately at level of setae d1, e1 and f2 ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 ).

Venter ( Figures 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 ). Genital valves each with 10 setae aligned in roughly longitudinal arrangement ( Figures 4 View Figure 4 , 5A View Figure 5 ); nine paragenital setae; setae ps1–ps3 present, smooth; one unpaired seta between coxae IV ( Figure 4 View Figure 4 ); amphioid sclerite with eight setae arranged as in Figure 5B View Figure 5 .

Leg ( Figure 6 View Figure 6 ). Setae on leg segments as follows: coxae I–IV 5-2-5-2, all setae on coxae tactile, setiform, one seta medio-distally on coxa I about twice the length of other setae on coxae. Trochanters I–IV 2-2-2-1, all setae tactile. Basifemora I–IV 8-8-7-4, all setae tactile. Telofemora I–IV 5-5-4-4, all setae tactile. Genua I–IV 4t, one pair duplex setae, proximal member minutely reduced, sometimes only its alveoli perceptible (same chaetotaxy on genua I to IV). Tibiae I–IV 8t, 3s, 1tr- 8t, 2s- 9t, 1s- 9t, 1 tr. Tarsi I–IV 26t, 3s- 28t, 1s- 24t, 1 tr- 22t, 1s; one thin sensorial seta on proximal quarter of tarsi I, two on third fourth of segment; trichobothria on medial portion of tibiae I and IV, and proximal on tarsi III.

Female

As described for male except for differences in genitalia: evertible ovipositor present.

Differential diagnosis

The new species resembles Cyta spuria Atyeo, 1960 by the prodorsal setae vi, ve and sce being arranged in line, and also by the chaetotaxy of palpal basifemur with four setae. It can be distinguished by the genital setae being smooth (barbulate in C. spuria ), four tactile setae plus one solenidium distal and two long end setae on palp tarsus (three tactile setae in C. spuria , plus solenidium and end setae). Additionally prodorsal striae of the new species prodorsal striae are strong and continuous opposed to finely broken as in C. spuria .

Type material

Holotype male, paratypes two males and three females, collected from faeces of Kerodon rupestris (Wied, 1820) ( Rodentia , Caviidae ), Gruta do Janelão cave (15 ◦ 06 ′ 54 ′′ S, 44 ◦ 14 ′ 27 ′′ W), Cavernas do Peruaçu National Park, between

municipalities of Januária / Itacarambi, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, coll. L.F.O. Bernardi, 8 May 2008, deposited at DZSJRP .

Additional material examined

From Minas Gerais State, Brazil – two females from Bocaininha Cave , Arcos, coll. L.F.O. Bernardi, 29 November 2008 ; one female from Helinho II Cave, Pains , coll. R. A. Zampaulo, 26 July 2010 ; one male from Janelão Cave , Januária / Itacarambi, coll. R. L. Ferreira, 18 March 2003 ; one deutonymph from Davi Cave , Pains, coll. R. A. Zampaulo, 5 September 2010 ; one female from Ronco Cave , Pains, coll. R. A. Zampaulo, 28 November 2010 ; one female from Dolina dos Angicos Cave, Pains, coll. R. A. Zampaulo, 25 June 2010 ; one female from Massambará Cave , Pains, coll. R. A. Zampaulo, 5 November 2010 ; one male from Buraco do Nando Cave , Pains, coll. R. A. Zampaulo, 28 November 2010 . Specimens deposited in the Invertebrate Collection of Lavras ( ISLA) in the Section of Zoology / Departament of Biology in University of Lavras ( UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerias, Brazil and at MZ-ESALQ – Museum of Zoology , Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil .

Etymology

From troglo, Greek for cave, cave dwelling, referring to the habitat where the specimens were collected.

Ecology

The specimens of the new species described herein were found among the communities living in faeces of the rock cavy ( Kerodon rupestris ), approximately 40 m from the cave entrance. Little is known about the communities of small invertebrates living on the faeces of these mammals, especially in caves, so it is likely that additional taxa are yet to be discovered, revealing new and interesting ecological relationships.

Key to species of the genus Cyta von Heyden View in CoL of the world

1. Coxae and ventral hypostome reticulate...................................

..................................... C. reticulata Soliman and Zaher, 1975 View in CoL

Coxae and ventral hypostome without reticulation....................... 2

2. Prodorsal setae vi, ve and sci arranged in line............................ 3

Prodorsal setae vi, ve and sci arranged not in line, sci inserted approximately at the same longitudinal level of vi ....................................... 6

3. Dorsal setae serrate........................... C. murrayi den Heyer, 1981 View in CoL

Dorsal setae smooth.................................................... 4

4. Seven setae on palp basifemur....... C. longiseta Wallace and Mahon, 1972 View in CoL

Four setae on palp basifemur........................................... 5

5. Microseta on proximal portion of tarsi I and II; prodorsal striae faint and finely broken....................................... C. spuria Atyeo, 1960 View in CoL

Microseta absent on tarsi I and II; prodorsal striae strong and continuous....................................................... C. troglodyta View in CoL sp. nov.

6. Trichobothrium present only on tibia IV...... C. latirostris Hermann, 1804 View in CoL

Trichobothrium present on tibia I, IV and tarsus III..................... 7

7. Prodorsal setae vi and sce (prodorsal trichobothriae) longitudinally aligned forming a square or rectangle........................................... 8

Prodorsal setae vi and sce not longitudinally aligned, setae sce clearly further apart as vi, forming a widely based trapezium............................ 9

8. Eyes absent; posterior trichobothriae (sce) spatulate.......................

........................................... C. magdalenae den Heyer, 1981 View in CoL

Eyes present; posterior trichobothriae setiform... C. brevipalpa Ewing, 1909 View in CoL

9. Integument heavily sclerotized (dark) and purple..........................

............................................... C. coerulipes (Dugès, 1834) View in CoL

................. (including subspecies C. c. quadrisetusus den Heyer, 1981)

Integument lightly sclerotized and not purple........................... 10

10. Prodorsal setae sci reaching the bases of ve and sce ........................

........................................ C. kauaiensis Swift and Goff, 1987 View in CoL

Prodorsal setae sci only reaching halfway to bases of ve and sce .............

............................................... C. americana (Banks, 1902) View in CoL

Ecology and distribution of mites in caves of Brazil

Studies on the cave fauna of Brazil have been conducted since the early twentieth century ( Ribeiro 1907), becoming more intense from the 1980s onwards ( Dessen et al. 1980; Chaimowicz 1984, 1986; Godoy 1986; Trajano and Moreira 1991). Nevertheless, mites living in these environments were rarely reported in those studies. Pinto-da- Rocha (1994) compiled the published records on the cavernicolous fauna of Brazil, revealing 38 mite families. Ferreira and Martins (1999) and Ferreira et al. (2000) surveyed cave communities associated with bat guano and elevated the number of families to 45, but more recent studies increased it to 67, uncovering new records and ecological relationships, and increasing the geographical distribution ( Barros-Battesti et al. 2003; Estrada-Pena et al. 2004; Bernardi et al. 2009, Dantas-Torres et al. 2009).

Several places, however, remain unexplored. The study of the mite fauna of caves in Brazil is still fragmentary, so more studies in this field should be encouraged, especially as these organisms are important components of the cave ecosystems as parts of several ecological processes (e.g. decay, parasitism, predation, phytophagy), with representatives in almost every trophic level.

Records of mites in the caves of Brazil are mainly concentrated in the southeastern region, especially in the States of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná ( Table 1, Figure 7 View Figure 7 ). However, this does not reflect the true picture of mite occurrence. Instead, it probably represents the actual and past activities of researchers working and studying the subterraneous fauna in that region. Other Brazilian States in northeastern and northern regions, such as Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Bahia, Pará, Sergipe and others, are likely to harbour a higher diversity of cave mites, given that numerous natural caves are found in those states. The mite fauna of such areas has been poorly surveyed to this date.

With regard to the family Bdellidae , with the exception of Spinibdella cronini , reported by Pinto-da-Rocha (1993), the remaining records from caves in Brazil provide no further identification besides the family level ( Table 1, Figure 7 View Figure 7 ). Herein we report 13 new records of bdellids from caves in Brazil, representing only three bdellid genera ( Bdellodes , Cyta and Spinibdella ).