Acrotritia paraspiculifera, Niedbała, 2012

Niedbała, W., 2012, An Updated Study Of Ptyctimous Mite Fauna (Acari: Oribatida) Of The Australasian Region With A Description Of Thirteen New Species, Acarologia 52 (2), pp. 183-228 : 193

Acrotritia paraspiculifera n. sp.

( Figures 2 A-C)

Material examined — Holotype and two paratypes (one in ANIC, one in NHC): ANIC-1058 9 km Northest of Mt. Tozer , rainforest litter, 12°43’S 143°17’E, 5-10 July 1986, coll. T. Weir

Measurements of holotype — Prodorsum: length 263, height 114, width 190, sensillum 45, setae: interlamellar 131, lamellar 83, rostral 66, exobothridial 15; notogaster: length 545, height 348, width 313, setae: c 1 66, h 1 81, p 1 76; length of genitoaggenital plate 202, length of anoadanal plate 263.

Description — Colour yellow, surface of body punctate.

Prodorsum with one pair of distinct long lateral carinae. Sensilla with plum-stone shaped head. Interlamellar, lamellar and rostral setae erect and spinose in distal half. Distance between lamellar setae larger than between rostral setae.

Notogastral setae rather short, spinose in distal half, c 1 <c 1 -d 1.

Ventral region — Nine pairs of minute genital and two pair of minute aggenital setae present. Three pairs of anal and three pairs of adanal setae present. All setae, except an 3 setae of similar length. Lyrifissures iad located between an 3 and ad 3 setae.

Legs — Tarsi with variable number of claws. Tarsi formula in holotype: left leg 2-3-3-1, right leg 1-3-3-1, while in paratype I the formula is 2-3-3-1 and 2-3-3-2, and in paratype II it is 2-3-3-3 and 2-3- 3-3.

Etymology — The prefix para is Latin meaning near and refers to the similarity the new species with to Acrotritia spiculifera .

Comparison to related species — The new species is similar to Acrotritia spiculifera ( Mahunka, 1991) in the plum-stone shape of sensilla, length and proportion of setae, number nine pairs of genital and two pairs of adanal setae. It is slightly bigger and distinguished from the above species by the presence of variable number of claws on the legs (all legs in A. spiculifera are monodactylous), larger distance between lamellar setae than between rostral setae (in A. spiculifera these distance is similar) and a similar length of setae on anoadanal plates, except setae an 3 (in A. spiculifera setae an 1 and an 2 are shorter than adanal setae).

Figures

FIGURE 2: Acrotritia paraspiculifera n. sp. (holotype): A – prodorsum, dorsal view, B – prodorsum, lateral view, C – lateral view of opisthosoma; Microtritia cristata n. sp. (holotype): D – prodorsum, dorsal view, E – prodorsum, lateral view, F – lateral view of opisthosoma, G – ventral view of opisthosoma, left side.