Pseudoaustraliobates, Smit, Harry, 2009

Smit, Harry, 2009, New Australian hygrobatids (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Hygrobatidae), with the description of two new genera and three new species, Zootaxa 2114, pp. 61-68 : 66

Pseudoaustraliobates gen. nov.

Diagnosis. PII ventrally with minute papillae, PIII with a large, rounded ventral extension with minute papillae, PIV anteromedially with a short, heavy seta; idiosoma papillate; fourth coxal plates with long apodemes, posterior apodemes of fourth coxal plates short.

Type species: Pseudoaustraliobates flindersi n. sp.

Description. Idiosoma with small papillae, lying quite distant from each other. Dorsum without plates or platelets, lateral eyes small, lying beneath idiosoma. Gnathosoma not fused with coxal plates, anteroventrally with small papillae. Coxal plates in four groups, first and second coxal plates ending posteriorly in a point. Suture lines of first and second and of third and fourth coxal plates complete. Apodemes of fourth coxal plates long, posterior apodemes of fourth coxal plates short. Genital field with three pairs of acetabula. PII ventrally with minute papillae; PIII ventrally with a large rounded extension with small papillae; PIV ventrally with a ridge and a hyaline membrane and with two setae on a short tubercle, PIV anteromedially with a peg-like seta. Legs without swimming setae.

Etymology. Named for its similarity with the genus Australiobates .

Remarks. The new genus is close to Australiobates Lundblad. All species of this genus known thus far have a rather uniform palp, without the anteromedial peg-like seta of PIV, without an extension of PIII and palp without small papillae. Moreover, none of the known Australiobates species have the idiosoma papillate. The new genus is also close to Hygrobatella Viets , known from South America. This genus shares a number of characteristics with the new genus, i.e. a similarly shaped posterior process of the gnathosoma, PII and PIII ventrally with small papillae and in some species with a ventral extension, PIV with an anteroventral peg-like seta, papillate idiosoma and similarly shaped coxal plates. However, all species are lacking the large apodemes of the fourth coxal plates.