Hydrodroma zhokhovi Tuzovskij, 2014

Gerecke, Reinhard, 2017, The water mites of the genus Hydrodroma (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Hydrodromidae) in Europe and Africa, Ecologica Montenegrina 13, pp. 1-24 : 22

Hydrodroma zhokhovi Tuzovskij, 2014

Type series (not examined): Institute for Biology of Inland Waters (Borok, Russia); Holotype: ♂, 1 ♀. slide 9653, Ethiopia, Tana lake , 15.11.2007 (coll. A.E. Zhokhov) . Paratypes: Same site and date, 8 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ and 5 deutonymphs.

Diagnosis (adults, after Tuzovskij 2014, modified from original description): Integument papillae short, distally rounded; genital field with sexual dimorphism, bearing 65-120 pairs of acetabula (females: 65-75, males 70-120) and numerous subequal medial setae (females: 45-65, males: 75-140); P-3 with two long unequal dorsodistal setae; swimming setation rather rich (anterior/posterior): II-L-5 (0/2); III-L-4 (0/10-14); III-L-5 (0/8-10); IV-L-4 (11-14/8-15); IV-L-5 (0/8-11); ejaculatory complex with two well developed accessory glands.

Discussion: The detailed original description does not leave important questions open, and no material had to be studied for comparison. Tuzovskij (2014) placed H. zhokovi correctly near H. capensis (important common character combination: presence of two posterior swimming setae on II-L-5, absence of anterior swimming setae from IV-L-5). New morphological data provided here for H. capensis confirm differences from H. zhokovi in (1) more elongate integument papillae, and (2) the genital field without remarkable sexual dimorphism, bearing lower numbers of acetabula (35-60) and medial setae (25-30). Instead, there is an overlap of the genital plate length measurement ranges, and both species agree also in the swimming setae numbers of IV-L.

Distribution: Only known from the type locality in Ethiopia.