Bertrandiella Paredes-León, Klompen and Pérez

Paredes-León, Ricardo, Klompen, Hans & Pérez, Tila M., 2012, Systematic revision of the genera Geckobiella Hirst, 1917 and Hirstiella Berlese, 1920 (Acari: Prostigmata: Pterygosomatidae) with description of a new genus for American species parasites on geckos formerly placed in Hirstiella, Zootaxa 3510, pp. 1-40 : 17-18

Bertrandiella Paredes-León, Klompen and Pérez , new genus

Hirstiella (in part): Cunliffe 1952: 162; Jack 1961: 305.

Pimeliaphiloides (in part): Vitzthum, 1942: 806; Baker and Wharton 1952: 208. Type species: Bertrandiella chamelaensis sp. nov., designated here

Diagnosis. Female. Palpal tarsus very reduced (distinctly shorter than tibial claw) and round (as long as wide); seta v of palpal tibia with nude stalk ending in thick brush-like structure. Idiosoma longer than wide, oligotrichous; dorsal body setae c3 absent; prodorsal shield shaped as inverted equilateral triangle; setae vi located proximal to ve, both on prodorsal shield; dorsal setal pair h1 heavily pectinate; setae ps1–3 similar in length and arboriform (extensively pectinate), slightly shorter than rest of dorsal setae; genital setae (g1) arboriform and not located on lobes; setae ag1–3 pectinate and long (slightly shorter than f1), setae ag3 longer than subequal ag1–2. Tarsi I–IV progressively narrowing from proximal to distal end. Setae ps1–3 present from larval instar on.

Description. Female. Gnathosoma. Palps robust and short; palpal femur with dorsal seta long (sometimes reaching tip of palp), thick and pectinate; palpal tarsus rounded and small; seta v of palpal tibia with nude stalk ending in thick brush-like structure; subcapitulum with anterolateral flange. Idiosoma . Prodorsal shield always present, shaped as equilateral triangle with anterior margin slightly concave and with 3 pairs of setae: vi, ve and sci. Oligotrichous; dorsal setae long and pectinate; dorsal setae c3 absent; setae ps1–3 pectinate; genital setae barbed or pectinate, not located on lobes. Legs. Femora I–IV longer than genua I–IV; leg setae long (almost the length of each podomer); tarsal tips I–IV very narrow; setae v” of genua II and vs” of tarsi II–IV present; setae 4c of coxae IV present; tarsal setae tc’ and tc” II–IV peripectinate, similar in length; setae 1b of coxae I, 2b of coxae II and 3c and 3d of coxae III thick, robust and pectinate; seta ft of tarsus I peripectinate and at least half as long as ω 2; solenidion ω 1 of tarsus I absent; setae a” of tarsi II–IV nude.

Male. Idiosoma . Prodorsal shield always present, trapezoid in shape, clearly wider than long and with 4 pairs of peripectinate setae (vi, ve, sci and c1). Legs. Setae v’ on genua IV and v” on tibia IV pectinate (neither hollow ensiform on genua IV nor solid spine-like on tibia IV); solenidia ω 1 and ω 2 of tarsus I present.

Setal development. Setae ps1–3 present from larval instar on.

Hosts. All instars parasitic on lizards of gekkotan families, i. e., Sphaerodactylidae , Phyllodactylidae and Eublepharidae (Table 3).

TABLE 3. Species included in the genus Bertrandiella gen. nov., with a summary of host and distribution data. B. jimenezi (Paredes-León Phyllodactylidae Phyllodactylus bordai , Mexico Paredes-León and and Morales-Malacara, 2009) P. tuberculosus Morales-Malacara 2009 B. chamelaensis Paredes- Phyllodactylidae Phyllodactyus lanei Mexico This study León, Klompen and Pérez sp. rupinus

nov.

Etymology. This genus is named in honour of the French acarologist Michel Bertrand for his great contributions to the study of pterygosomatid mites.

Remarks. Bertrandiella gen. nov. is the sister taxon of Pimeliaphilus , both genera have (1) the podomers thin, at least twice as long as wide, (2) tarsi I–IV progressively thinned from proximal to distal end and (3) setae v’ on genua and v” on tibia IV of males peripectinate. However, the shape of the cheliceral digits, the size of the base of gnathosoma and the shape of companion seta (ft) of tarsus I, allow us to separate it. In Bertrandiella gen. nov. (1) seta ft is peripectinate and long, (2) the base of the capitulum has an anterolateral flange and is as long as the rest of the palps, (3) the cheliceral digits are typical for Pterygosomatidae (fixed digit as a weakly spinous seta-like or branched process and movable digit distorted to project laterally and may have one or two teeth), (4) solenidion ω 1 on tarsus I is absent and (5) tibiae I in the larvae are without solenidia; while in Pimeliaphilus (1) seta ft is nude, spiniform and very reduced, (2) the base of gnathosoma is large and longer than the rest of the palps, (3) the cheliceral digits are long and spine-like, (4) solenidion ω 1 on tarsus I is present and (5) tibiae I in the larvae carry solenidion φ 1.

The species of Hirstiella parasitic on Old World gekkotan lizards share the characters mentioned above (and others) with Pimeliaphilus , and for this reason we propose transferring H. insignis and H. sharifi back to Pimeliaphilus .

The monotypic genus Tequisistlana is the sister taxon of the clade comprising Pimeliaphilus and Bertrandiella gen. nov. These three genera share some characters such as the presence on the palpal femur and genua of a pectinate and long dorsal seta (almost reaching the tip of palp), emergent peritremes short (at level of subcapitulum), a prodorsal shield with three pairs of setae (vi, ve and sci), dorsal setae c3 absent and most of the rest of dorsal idiosomal setae peripectinate and long (reaching to the bases of the next setal row).

Tequisistlana and Bertrandiella gen. nov. also share some characters such as the shape of seta v on the palpal tibia (with nude stalk ending in a thick brush-like structure; nude or slightly barbed in Pimeliaphilus ), the number and type of dorsal setae, etc. However, the bulk of the evidence in the systematic analysis supports a grouping of Bertrandiella and Pimeliaphilus .

Other included species (all new combinations from Hirstiella ). Bertrandiella tenuipes ( Hirst, 1917) , B. otophila ( Hunter & Loomis, 1966) and B. jimenezi ( Paredes-León & Morales-Malacara, 2009) (Table 3).

The above generic diagnosis is based mainly on characters of adult females. Hirstiella tenuipes , for which the female is unknown, was analyzed based on the only available specimen, a deutonymph, which shares all characters listed with the exception of characters pertaining to the genital (g1), aggenital setae (ag3), dorsal idiosomal setae f2, coxal setae 4c and the length of some setae.