Nameriophyes, Xue & Zhang, 2008

Xue, Xiao-Feng & Zhang, Zhi-Qiang, 2008, New Zealand Eriophyoidea (Acari: Prostigmata): an update with descriptions of one new genus and six new species, Zootaxa 1962 (1), pp. 1-32 : 7

Nameriophyes gen. nov.

Type species. Nameriophyes sapidae sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Body fusiform; prodorsal shield with a broad frontal lobe, dorsal tubercles ahead of rear shield margin, setae directed anterior; all coxal setae present; prosternal apodeme absent; legs with usual series of setae; dorsal opisthosoma evenly curved, ventrally with microtuberculate annuli, opisthosoma with all usual setae; female genitalia appressed to coxal plates, coverflap with 2 uneven ranks; empodium entire.

Etymology. The generic name is combined from N.A.M. (for Nicholas A. Martin, New Zealand entomologist/acarologist and collector of several species in this paper) and Eriophyes ; masculine in gender.

Notes. The new genus is assigned to Eriophyoidea , Eriophyidae , Cecidophyinae , Colomerini . The new genus is similar to Esalquia Flechtmann, 2002 , but can be differentiated from the latter by the following: 1) the dorsal tubercles normal and setae directed anterior (prodorsal shield with two large tuberosities and setae set on anterior declivity of tuberosities, directed outwards in Esalquia ); 2) dorsal opisthosoma evenly curved (dorsal opisthosoma with middorsal trough and two subdorsal ridges in Esalquia ); 3) tarsal empodium simple, 3-rayed (tarsal empodium divided, 4-rayed each in Esalquia ).