Kongsbergia (Kongsbergia) himalayaensis Pešić & Smit, 2020

Pešić, Vladimir, Smit, Harry, Bahuguna, Pankaj, ., ., ., .,., K., K., K. & K., 2020, A new species of Kongsbergia from the Western Himalaya with a key to the species of the genus of India (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Ecologica Montenegrina 27, pp. 35-38 : 35-37

Kongsbergia (Kongsbergia) himalayaensis Pešić & Smit sp. nov.

( Fig. 1)

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:22012EB2-E65B-4E96-9A65-1866034292F1

Type material. Holotype male ( RMNH.ACA.3208), dissected and slide mounted, India, Uttarakhand State, Pauri Garhwal, stream Randi Gad , 30°06 ' 28.26 '' N, 78°37'30.68'' E, 1.xii.2017, leg. P. Bahuguna.

Diagnosis (Female unknown). Dorsal shield without colour pattern; IV-L-5 ventral margin with a relatively short proximal projection bearing a large sword-like seta with a blunt tip, distoventral seta strong and almost straight, IV-L-6 stout (L/H ratio 2.3).

Description. Male —Colour yellowish brown, idiosoma elongated, egg-shaped, margin between Dgl- 1 straight, lateral margins weakly convex, posterior margins rounded; lateral eyes with black pigment dots. Excretory pore in dorsal position. Gnathosomal bay deep, suture Cx-I/II distinct, not reaching the medial line. Genital field with 35-40 pairs of acetabula, in one or two rows near posterior and lateral margins of the venter ( Fig. 1B), gonopore in terminal position on ventral surface. Palp: P-2 dorsal margin convex, ventral margin with a large, posteriorly directed tubercle, and one much smaller, more anteriorly located knobshaped tubercle, P-4 stout, maximum H at the base of the segment ( Figs. 1 C-D). IV-L: IV-L-5 distoventrally projecting, with a large sword-like seta with a blunt tip, located on a relatively short projection in the proximal part of the segment, the distoventral seta stout and almost straight, located halfway between insertion of sword-like seta and tip of a distal process; IV-L-6 stout, at its base covered by a distoventral process of the preceding segment ( Figs. 1 F-E).

Measurements —Idiosoma L 434, W 266; gnathosomal bay L 144, Cx-III W 275. Palp: palp total 344; dL/H, dL/H ratio: P-1, 27/39, 0.68; P-2, 114/113, 1.01; P-3, 45/67, 0.67; P-4, 111/47, 2.36; P-5, 47/27, 1.76; L ratio P-2/P-4 1.03. Gnathosoma vL 134; chelicera total L 139. Legs: dL of I-L: 50, 65, 59, 63, 91, 100; L/H I-L-6 ratio 2.9; dL of IV-L: 109, 125, 78, 59, 163, 108; IV-L-5 proximal sword-like seta L 188, distoventral seta L 62; IV-L-6 H 47, L/H IV-L-6 ratio 2.3.

Female: unknown.

Etymology. The species is named for its occurrence in the Himalayan range.

Discussion. In the shape of the IV-L and palp, the new species is most similar to Kongsbergia rucira Cook, 1967 , known from Maharashtra State of India ( Cook 1967). From the new species, Kongsbergia rucira differs in colour pattern consisting of anterior and posterior patches, a curved and pointed distoventral seta on IV-L-5 and a slender IV-L-6 (see Cook 1967: fig. 724). Moreover the new species differs in having a deeper gnathosomal bay and more developed posteriorly-directed projections covering IV-L insertions.

Distribution. India; known only from the locus typicus in Uttarakhand State.