Taintaturus longipileatus, Smit, Harry, 2017

Smit, Harry, 2017, Notoaturine water mites from New Zealand (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Notoaturinae) with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 4247 (1), pp. 16-30 : 27-29

Taintaturus longipileatus n. sp.

( Fig. 6A–D )

Material examined. Holotype female, Peg Leg Creek, Arthur’s Pass NP, South Island , New Zealand, 42° 53.702 S 171° 33.587 E, alt. 839 m asl, 23-xii-2014 ( MONZ) .

Diagnosis. Hood long and anteriorly concave, anterodorsal margin of ventral shield irregularly serrated.

Description. Female: Characters of genus as given by Cook (1983). Idiosoma ventrally 454 long and 275 wide. Integument rugose, pigment absent, eyes present. Dorsal shield 324 long, anteromedial plate without reticulation. Hood relatively long with a concave anterior margin ( Fig. 6A , arrow), 44 wide. Anterodorsal margin of ventral shield irregularly serrated. Excretory pore located dorsally. First coxae and area near insertion of fourth legs damaged due to mounting. Suture lines of coxae obliterated. Gonopore 60 long, indented posteriorly, most acetabula not visible due to rugosity of integument. Length of P1-5: 22, 36, 28, 44, 24. P2 with an anteroventral extension, P3 without ventral extension. First leg not measurable. Length of IV-leg-1-6: 56, 79, 34, 41, 46, 44. Legs without swimming setae.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for the long hood.

Remarks. Most other species known thus far have the anterodorsal margin of the ventral shield more or less smooth, apart from the rugosity of the integument. Species without a smooth anterodorsal margin have either a pointed hood ( T. abditus , T. zelandicus ) or the anterodorsal margin of the ventral shield is with one pointed extension only ( T. hopkinsi ).

Figures

FIGURE 6 A – D. Taintaturus longipileatus n. sp., holotype female. A = dorsum; B = venter; C = palp; D = IV-leg- 1 – 6. Scale bars = 50 µm.