Pedrocortesella anica, Hunt, 1996

Hunt, Glenn S., 1996, A review of the genus Hexachaetoniella Paschoal in Australia (Acarina: Cryptostigmata: Pedrocortesellidae), Records of the Australian Museum 48 (3), pp. 223-286 : 230-235

Pedrocortesella anica n.sp.

Figs 2, 3, 4A-C

Type material. Australian Capital Territory: HOLOTYPE adult. ANIC, Black Mountain, Canberra , 35°16'S 149°06'E, open forest, extraction leaf litter, ANIC berlesate 1067, T. Weir, 20 October 1986 . PARATYPE adults. ANIC, same data as holotype, 6 adults ; AM KS46544 , SEM stub no. S/256 (ill.), same data 5 adults ; AM KS43682 , same data, 2 adults ; FMNH, same data, 2 adults ; CNC, same data, 2 adults ; AM KS46546 , SEM stub no. S!l70 (ill.), beside Federal Highway , just N. of Canberra on NSW/ACT border, 35°23'S 149°23'E, open forest beneath E. viminalis , berlese extraction of leaf litter, G.S. Hunt, 10 May 1992, 3 adults ; AM KS43683 , same data, 13 adults ; AM KS46557 , SEM stub no. S!l22 (ill.), 1 km N. of Mount Gingera , 35°33'S 148°47'E, berlese extraction moss, ANlC berlesate 699, A. Calder, 18 February 1981, 3 adults .

Other material examined. New South Wales: AM KS46558 , SEM stub no. S/243, Kanangra-Boyd National Park , 34°03'S 150°05'E, closed forest, berlese extraction, litter and moss, ANIC berlesate 828, L. Hill, 20 March 1992, 2 adults ; AM KS46559 , SEM stub no. S1l19, 4.8 km E.N.E. of Moruya , 35°55'S 150°06'E, ANIC berlesate 267, tea tree, N.J. Mitchell 30 March 1970, 2 adults ; AM KS43684 , Adaminaby , 36°00'S 148°47'E, ex soil in paddock, 18 June 1984, 4 adults .

Diagnosis. Body medium, length about 450 - 550 f. tm; scalps rarely (if at all) carried by adult; sensillus with long flattened tuberculate blade; notogaster reticulate-foveate, each small fovea perforated by pore, integument with transverse ridges between lines of foveae; 5 pairs of notogastral setae, each arising from pit; genitoanal chaetotaxy 7:1:2:3, genital setae in essentially straight file, insertion of seta ad3 adjacent to posterior half of anal valve; claw stalk very short.

Description

ADULT: Body: brown; length (f.tm) 450, 460, 520, 530. Cerotegument: body generally with thin veneer of cerotegument; reticulations on prodorsum and notogaster and rim of bothridium highlighted with crests of cerotegument (Fig. 2D,E). Setae ro and le and notogastral setae without obvious cerotegument. Prodorsum: integument reticulate-alveolate particularly anterior to median transverse groove, some alveoli with pores; carina between le and ro present or absent; le dorsolateral, distance between them about 0.60 distance between ro, not arising from large pit, ro ventrolateral. Pedotectal tooth tapering to more delicate point than P propinqua . Bothridium closely adpressed to notogaster (Fig. 2E), wall subtriangular and depressed posteriorly and anterolaterally, posterolateral carina moderately strong, situated close to notogaster; sensillus length about 0.9 interbothridial distance, with long flattened tuberculate blade (Fig. 2e), posterior margin of prodorsum forming a somewhat irregular arc between bothridia. in small, set>0.5<1.0 bothridial diameter from bothridial wall, at edge of dorsosejugal furrow, spiniform, largely encased in cerotegument (Fig. 2E). Exuvial scalps: none seen. Notogaster: oval, length:width 320:250, 350:270. Intramarginal depression oval. Notogaster foveatereticulate and perforated by pores, patterning of integument tending to form subtransverse wavy ridges, more pronounced laterally, connecting ridges weaker (Fig. 2A,D,F); posterior margin barely invaginate when viewed from above, with a strong carina between setae pI when viewed posteriorly (Fig. 2G). Fissura ia subparallel-oblique, im oblique and ip obliqueperpendicular to sagittal plane; 5 pairs of short notogastral setae arising from pits larger than adjacent punctations; hI moderately separated, each located just inside posterior margin; pI inserted lower than midheight on posterior flank, similarly spaced or slightly further apart than hI; lpx, p2x and p3x arise just inside posterolateral flank, their insertions easily visible from above, lpx and p2x subequidistant from fissura ip, lpx inserted posterior to it (Fig. 2F). Gnathosoma : cheliceral movable finger ventrolaterally with prominent shelf on antiaxial surface and larger but more flexible flap on paraxial surface. Rutella basally with moderate concave flexure and strong pair of lateral buttress, small pointed mesad processes present, transverse striations absent (Fig. 3B). Pedipalp tarsus with setae (vt) and I" with long barbs, cm with short barbs, apophysis supporting seta aem short; solenidion omega almost reaching to base of aem. Epimeral region: strongly convex anterior to genital valves, though not tending to overhang them. Genitoanal region: separation of anal and genital vestibules relatively broad but with interruption to ventral plate microsculpture, wide mesal isthmus without strong transverse grooves between the vestibules (Fig. 3A). Ventral plate reticulatealveolate. Genitoanal chaetotaxy 7:1:2:3; genital setae essentially in straight file (Fig. 3E), gI subequal to other setae, at anterior corner in marginal notch; g5 situated at about 0.5 valve length, g7 inserted well anterior to inner posterior corner in marginal notch; setae ag inserted at level of g7; setae adI distinctly postanal, ad3 level with posterior half of anal valve; adI-3 inserted in small pits (Fig. 3D). Legs. Distal apophysis of tibia overlaps about 40% of tarsus ( Fig. 4A ). Tarsal cluster of leg I placed distodorsally on apophysis, slightly proximodorsal to setae te;fi", omega 1 and 2 enclosed in well-developed almost circular common rim, no partition separating fi" fiom omega 1 arrl 2; fi" longer than solenidia; tarsus with distal recess for receiving retracted unguinal complex ( Fig. 4C ), stalk very short ( Fig. 4B ).

Variation. The Kanangra-Boyd National Park specimen has a single buttress on the rutellum. The Moruya specimen, which has seta in very close to the bothridium, six pairs of genital setae, and a slightly different patteming of the notogaster, may belong to a different species.

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latinised acronym of Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) whose staff collected much of the material.

Distribution. SE New South Wales, and Australian Capital Territory.

Figures

Fig. 4. Pedrocortesella spp. Leg I structures. A--C: Pedrocortesella anica n.sp. A, genu, tibia and tarsus, antiaxial; B, detail tarsus, distal; C, tibia (distal) and tarsus, dorsal. D,E: Pedrocortesella callitarsus n.sp. D, genu, tibia and tarsus, antiaxial; E, tarsal cluster, detail. Scale bars: A,D 50 fJm; B,C,E = 10 fJm. A-C = Canberra; D,E = Mount Gingera.