Holostaspella bidentata, Özbek, 2017

Özbek, Hasan Hüseyin, 2017, A review of the macrochelid mites of Turkey (Acari: Macrochelidae), with new records and descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 4317 (3), pp. 559-572 : 565-567

Holostaspella bidentata sp. nov.

( Figures 16‒24 ; 32‒36)

Diagnosis. Ventri-anal shield with fOur pairs Of setae; metasternal shields free On sOft integument; tarsus II with a spur-like seta (mv), dOrsal shield withOut lateral indentatiOns; all dOrsal shield setae pilOse alOng their entire length and similar in width. In female, all setae On ventral shields smOOth and pOinted, except pilOse pOst-anal setae; crista posterior erecta distinct and narrOw; mOveable digit with twO distinct median teeth. In male, Jv3 smOOth, Other preanal setae pilOse; spermatOdactyl abOut dOuble length Of mOvable digit.

Specimens examined. HOlOtype, female, Turkey, Gümüşhane PrOvince, Köse TOwn , 40° 16’ N, 39° 38' E, alt . 1856 m, 26 June 2011, litter frOm the fOrest. Paratypes, a male, same data as hOlOtype; a female, Turkey, Gümüşhane PrOvince, Köse TOwn , 40° 16’ N, 39° 37' E, alt . 1758 m, 14 July 2009, litter Of Salix sp.; a female, Turkey, Gümüşhane PrOvince, Köse TOwn , 40° 16’ N, 39° 37' E, alt . 1758 m, 14 July 2009, in sOil; a female, Turkey, Gümüşhane PrOvince, Köse TOwn , 40° 16’ N, 39° 37' E, alt . 1800 m, 14 July 2009, litter Of Pinus sp. and mOss near stream.

Description. Female

Dorsum ( Fig. 16 ). DOrsal shield Oval, 800‒860 lOng, 550‒615 wide at the level Of widest pOint (n=5), cOvered with punctatiOn, and pOsteriOr-dOrsally slightly web-like; shield with 28 pairs Of setae, pilOse alOng their entire length and similar in width; setae j 1 30‒40 medially expanded, laterally pilOse, and lOcated On an anteriOr prOjectiOn, z1 45‒54, z5 36‒42, j5 55‒55, Other dOrsal setae mOre than 60 lOng (60‒105), especially pOsterO-dOrsal setae much lOnger (z4, s5, Z1‒Z4, S1‒S5 mOre than 80, J2 abOut 80). AnteriOr tips Of peritremes reaching beyOnd base Of setae z2.

Venter ( Fig. 17 ). Sternal shield 160‒164 lOng, 150‒160 wide at mid-level Of cOxae II, with three pairs Of unifOrm smOOth and pOinted setae, and twO pairs Of pOres; surface Ornamented with punctatiOn and pOlygOnal pattern; crista posterior erecta distinct and narrOw ( Fig. 32 ). Peritrematic shield pOsteriOrly free, nOt fused with exOpOdal shields. Epigynal shield helmet-like, 150‒168 lOng, 270‒300 wide, Ornamented with netwOrk Of macrOpunctatiOn. Ventri-anal shield 330‒344 lOng, 394‒435 wide (L/W 0.79‒0.84) Ornamented with netwOrk Of punctatiOn, with fOur pairs Of smOOth and pOinted pre-anal setae, Zv1 shOrt, 30‒34, Others similar in length (54‒68), and a pilOse pOst-anal seta ( Fig. 33 ).

Gnathosoma . Setae h3 lOngest, h2 similar in length tO pc, h1 lOnger than h2. COrniculi shOrt and hOrn-like. DeutOsternal grOOve with five rOws Of denticles ( Fig. 18 ). EpistOme tripartite, One lateral prOcess furcate distally, the Other nOt furcate, median prOcess deeply bifurcate distally, with lOng spines On its stem ( Fig. 19 ). Chelicerae well develOped, mOvable digit abOut 72‒78 lOng, with twO median teeth and a unidentate terminal hOOk, fixed digit abOut 67 lOng tO the level Of base Of dOrsal seta, with One large and One small median tOOth and a bidentate terminal hOOk, distinct pilus dentilis and a serrated dOrsal seta ( Figs 20 and 34 ). ArthrOdial brush lOng, reaching as lOng as mOvable digit.

Legs: ChaetOtaxy typical fOr the genus and family (Evans 1963). COxae II with twO setae (anteriOrly lOcated seta smOOth, pOsteriOrly One pilOse); cOxae III with twO pilOse setae; cOxae IV with a pilOse seta. Tarsus II with lOng seta mv ( Fig. 21 ). Femur II with a sclerOtised spur ( Fig. 35 ).

Description. Male

DOrsal shield 616 lOng, 430 wide at widest pOint. OrnamentatiOn and dOrsal chaetOtaxy similar tO that Of the female. Ventral idiOsOma with a sternO-genital and a ventri-anal shield which abut each Other. SternO-genital shield 253 lOng, 130 wide at the level Of cOxae II, Ornamented with punctate pattern, and bearing five pairs Of smOOth and pOinted setae. Ventri-anal shield 225 lOng, 290 wide, reticulated with punctate pattern and bearing fOur pairs Of preanal setae, Jv3 smOOth, Other pre-anal setae pilOse. EpistOme similar tO that Of female. MOvable digit Of chelicera with a median tOOth, 52 lOng, spermatOdactyl narrOw and 98 lOng, abOut dOuble length Of mOvable digit, fixed digit with One large median tOOth, twO small subterminal teeth and bidentate terminal hOOk ( Figs 22 and 36 ). Femur II with well develOped ventral spur ( Fig. 23 ), and tarsus II as in Fig. 24 .

Etymology. The name Of this species refers tO the twO medial teeth On the mOvable digit Of chelicerae in female specimens.

Notes. The genus Holastaspella is distributed in the trOpical, subtrOpical and temperate regiOns Of the wOrld ( Krantz, 1967; Mašán, 2003). The EurOpean fauna is represented by nine knOwn species ( Berlese, 1904; FillippOni & PegazzanO, 1967; Krauss, 1970; Krantz, 1972; BregetOva, 1977; Mašán, 2003). Mašán (2003) presented a key tO all EurOpean species and illustrated mOst Of them. Holostaspella bidentata is the first representative Of the genus in Turkey.

Holostaspella bidentata is similar tO H. subornata BregetOva & KOreleva, 1960 and H. neglecta ( Krauss, 1970) in having fOur pairs Of pre-anal setae, tarsus II with a spur-like seta, and dOrsal shield cOvered with punctatiOn, withOut lateral indentatiOns. It is distinguishable frOm these twO species by the unifOrm dOrsal shield setae, pilOse fOr their entire length and similar in width, twO median teeth On the mOvable digit Of the chelicera, the shape Of the epistOme, and the pilOse pOst-anal setae. AlsO, the present species may be cOmpared with H. ornata ( Berlese, 1904) in with the shape Of dOrsal setae, but it is clearly separable frOm it by many characters in the descriptiOn and diagnOsis.

Figures

FIGURES 16 ‒ 17. Holostaspella bidentata, female. 16. Dorsal idiosoma; 10. Ventral idiosoma.

FIGURES 18 ‒ 24. Holostaspella bidentata. 18. Female gnathosoma; 19. Female, epistome; 20. Female, chelicera; 21. Female, tarsus II; 22. Male, chelicerae; 23. Male, ventral spur of femur II; 24. Male, tarsus II.

FIGURES 25 – 34. 25. Nothrholaspis scutivagus, female, ornamentation of sternal shield; 26. Nothrholaspis scutivagus, female, free platelets in soft integument; 27. Nothrholaspis scutivagus, female, platelets fused with ventri-anal shield; 28. Nothrholaspis scutivagus, female, chelicera. 29. Macrocheles niksarensis, female, ornamentation of sternal shield; 30. Macrocheles niksarensis, female, ventri-anal shield; 31. Macrocheles niksarensis, female, chelicera. 32. Holostaspella bidentata, female, ornamentation of sternal shield; 33. Holostaspella bidentate, female, ventri-anal shield; 34. Holostaspella bidentata, female, chelicerae.

FIGURES 35 – 39. 35. Holostaspella bidentata, female, ventral spur of femur II; 36. Holostaspella bidentata, male, chelicerae. 37. Macrocheles peniculatus, female, dorsal shield; 38. Macrocheles peniculatus, female, ventral shields. 39. Macrocheles insignitus, female, ventral shields.