Feltria tuzovskyi, Pesic, Vladimir & Panesar, Arne, 2008

Pesic, Vladimir & Panesar, Arne, 2008, Studies on water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from the Himalayas, I. The water mite genus Feltria Koenike, with descriptions of eight new species, Zootaxa 1758, pp. 1-28 : 4-8

Feltria tuzovskyi sp. nov.

( Figs. 9–16 )

Type series. Holotype: male, dissected and slide-mounted in Hoyer's fluid. India: Himachal Pradesh State, IND' 95/120 Kullu Valley, spring with mosses near Rotang pass, 05.vii.1995. Paratypes: 7 females, same collecting site and data as holotype, two dissected and slide-mounted in Hoyer's fluid.

Diagnosis. Palp: sexual dimorphism, in male P-4 with ventral projection; the tarsus of male leg III with well developed ventrolateral projection.

Description. Male: Idiosoma L 372. Dorsal shield large, L/W 259/188, supplied with 5 pairs of setae: Postoc, Dgl-3, Dgl-5, Dgl-6, Dgl-7 ( Fig. 9 ).

Leg coxae are incorporated into 4 groups, close to each other, and occupy more than half of the ventral body surface ( Fig. 10 ). Anterior coxae with well developed posterior apodemes; Cxgl-2 located at posterior margin edge of Cx-2. Posterior groups of coxae with extensive secondary sclerotization, which extends to lateral and posterior margins of Cx-4. Genital field triangular, L 111, W 166, with 20–22 genital acetabula on each side of genital opening, which opens in the anterior part of the plate. The excretory pore is fused with the posterior margin of the genital field.

Shape and chaetotaxy of palp as in Figs. 11–12 ; P-2 with weakly convex ventrodistal margin; P-4 with ventral projection; palp total L 202, dL and %L (in parentheses, given as % of total L): P-1 20 (9.9), P-2 50 (24.8), P-3 29 (14.4), P-4 65 (32.2), P-5 38 (18.8); P-2/P-4 ratio 0.77.

III-L-6 with well developed ventrolateral projection ( Fig. 13 ), bearing 4 stout setae. L of III-L-1-6: 47, 34, 38, 58, 80, 78; L of IV-L-3-6: 57, 82, 91, 94.

Female: Idiosoma L/W 425/316, dorsal shield L/W 253/206. Morphology is similar to that of male, it differs in the integument sclerotization ( Fig. 14 ), genital field, P-4, and tarsus III. Posterior part of dorsum having 3 pairs of plates: 2 pairs of small anterior ones, posterior plates large and more or less at right angles to a longitudinal axis of the body. The leg coxae occupy more than half of the ventral body surface. Apodemes of anterior coxae long. Genital plates ( Fig. 15 ) shorter than the genital opening, their median margins straight and converging anteriorly. Genital plate L 94, W 86, with 23-25 genital acetabula. Shape and chaetotaxy of palp as in Fig. 16 ; palp total L 208, dL and %L (in parentheses, given as % of total L): P-1 20 (9.6), P-2 53 (25.5), P-3 27 (13.0), P-4 68 (32.7), P-5 40 (19.2); P-2/P-4 ratio 0.78; P-4 with strongly convex ventral margin, without ventrodistal projection. Tarsus of legs III without ventrolateral projection.

Discussion. Due to the characteristic shape of the palp, Feltria tuzovskyi sp. nov. belongs to the cornuta species group ( Feltria cornuta cornuta Walter, F. cornuta japonica Imamura , F. cornutopsis Cook , F. falcicorna Cook, F. t s e m b e r a e Tuzovskij). Feltria tuzovskyi sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from all these species by the combination of a much less developed ventral projection on P-4 and a well developed ventrolateral projection on the tarsus of leg III in the male.

Etymology. The species is named after Dr Petr Tuzovskij (Borok) in appreciation of his studies on water mites of the genus Feltria .

Habitat. Discovered in mosses in a mountain stream.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in the Kullu Valley (Himachal Pradesh, India) in the south-western Himalayas.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 13. Feltria tuzovskyi sp. nov., male holotype: 9 = idiosoma, dorsal view; 10 = idiosoma, ventral view; 11 = palp (P- 1 missing), lateral view; 12 = palp, medial view; 13 = III-L- 5 / 6. Scale Bars = 100 µm.

FIGURES 14 – 16. Feltria tuzovskyi sp. nov., female: 14 = idiosoma, dorsal view; 15 = idiosoma, ventral view; 16 = palp, medial view. Scale Bars = 100 µm.