Hygrobates (Hygrobatomegapus) spathuliferus ( Lundblad, 1927 )

Smit, Harry, 2005, Water mites of the family Hygrobatidae Koch from southern Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Journal of Natural History 39 (38), pp. 3369-3405 : 3386-3388

Hygrobates (Hygrobatomegapus) spathuliferus ( Lundblad, 1927) Hygrobates (Hygrobates) sanguineus transvaalensis K. O. Viets new syn.

Material examined

Kenya: holotype: female, stream at Koibuy, 5 km from Kapiyet, south-east of Mt Elgon , 26 January 1926, leg. Bryk (slide 1049, SMNH) . Paratype: male, same data as holotype (slide 1055, SMHN). Other material: one male, one female, Aberdare , Kenya, 2980 m a.s.l., 11 July 1948, leg. Holm (slides 3747, 3748, SMNH) . South Africa, Western Cape Province: one female, Great Berg River , 14 December 1950 , leg. unknown (slide 6575, labelled H. sanguineus, SMF ); three males, one female, Dwarsriver , alt. 861 m a.s.l., 32 ° 29.973, 19 ° 15.389 9 E, 2 November 2004 ; four males, three females, one nymph, Wolwekloof River at Tweede Tol, Limietberg NR, alt. 285 m a.s.l., 33 ° 34.115 9 S, 19 ° 08.255 9 E, 3 November 2004 ; 16 males, nine females, 10 nymphs, Melkhout River south of Port Malgas , alt. 89 m a.s.l., 34 ° 22.296 9 S, 20 ° 38. 701 9 E, 9 November 2004 . South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal Province: one female, Lotheni River, Drakensbergen , alt. 1400 m a.s.l., 29 ° 27.877 9 S, 29 ° 32.219 9 E, 18 November 2004 ; one male, one female, Delmhlwaziwe River, Injisuti, Drakensbergen , alt. 1453 m a.s.l., 29 ° 07.58 9 S, 29 ° 26. 313 9 E, 19 November 2004 . South Africa, Mpumalanga Province: two females, stream near Magoebaskloof , 10 July 1996 .

‘‘ Hygrobates sanguineus transvaalensis ’’: South Africa, Gauteng Province: three male, three females, Klein Vaal River , 18 October 1960, leg. Chutter (slides 3122, 3123, 3124, 3119, 3120, 3121, SMF) ; one female, Vaal River, where crossed by the road from Amersfoort to Morgenzon , 18 October 1969, leg. Chutter (slide 3062, SMF) . South Africa, Eastern Free State: one female, Klip River near the top of Muller’s Pass , 8 August 1961, leg. Chutter (slide 3064, SMF) . South Africa, Free State: one male, Keeromspruit , 9 August 1961, leg. Chutter (slide 4207, SMF) .

Remarks

With the finding of Hygrobates sanguineus and H. transvaalensis in the same locality (i.e. Wolwekloof River) it is clear that the latter cannot be a subspecies of the former. However, a further examination of the material from the Viets collection revealed that H. sanguineus transvaalensis is conspecific with H. spathuliferus . K. O. Viets (1968) compared H. sanguineus transvaalensis only with H. sanguineus . The differences between these two taxa are even larger, because K. Viets (1956) did not illustrate H. sanguineus correctly (see under that species). K. O. Viets (1968) must have overlooked H. spathuliferus , which is surprising, because he reported the species from South Africa previously ( Viets KO 1963). The holotype of H. spathuliferus has the extension of PII widened distally, but undoubtedly this is the result of mounting. In other slides of the Lundblad collection examined by me the extension is not widened distally. In all other aspects H. sanguineus transvaalensis and H. spathuliferus are similar: PII with a large ventral extension, distally covered with numerous fine papillae. I-leg-5 has one distally located blunt seta, I-leg-6 is slightly bowed to straight. There is much variation in the length of PIV of the female. K. O. Viets (1968) gives a range of 218–272, and in my material the maximum length measured is 348. Lundblad (1952) noted much variation in the species: the bowing of PIV is not always present, the distal seta of I-leg-5 is occasionally more slender and he also noted that the ventral extension of PII is not always widened distally and often shorter compared to the holotype.

One female from Magoebaskloof has two pairs of four acetabula, but is otherwise similar and is therefore assigned to H. spathuliferus .