Anisitsiellides fuscatus, Smit, 2007

Smit, Harry, 2007, New Records of Hyporheic Water Mites from Australia, with a Description of Two New Genera and Ten New Species (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Records of the Australian Museum 59 (2), pp. 97-116 : 99

Anisitsiellides fuscatus n.sp.

Figs. 1–6

Type material. HOLOTYPE female, Carters Creek , at crossing with Western Distributor Road, New South Wales, Australia, 35°30.914'S 150°03.546'E, alt. 187 m, 16 December 2003 ( AMS).

Diagnosis. Venter with separate, complete anterior sclerite, ventroglandularia 5 not fused with ventral shield, swimming setae of IV-leg-5 more than twice as long as IV-leg-6.

Description. Female: Idiosoma pale brown, 713 long and 583 wide. Dorsum with a large dorsal plate with two pairs of glandularia and a pair of postocularia; dorsal plate 599 long and 446 wide. Dorsal furrow with six pairs of glandularia. Venter with a separate, complete anterior plate which bears a pair of small eyes. Lateroglandularia 1 in ventral shield near anterior sclerite. Ventroglandularia x (vgx, sensu Harvey, 1990b) in the middle of third coxae near suture line. Suture lines of coxae incomplete, especially between third and fourth coxae, posterior suture line of fourth coxae absent. Curved ridges extending anteriorly from the fourth coxal plates. Medial suture line of fourth coxae extending to genital field. Ventroglandularia 5 not incorporated in ventral shield. Genital field 148 long, with three pairs of acetabula.Anterior two pairs of acetabula elongated, both 38 long, posterior pair more rounded, 28 long. Lengths of PI–PV: 26, 70, 54, 100, 23. PII with an anteroventral seta, ventral margin of PIV straight, without setal tubercle. Lengths of I-leg-4–6: 91, 98, 92; segments stocky. Lengths of IV-leg-4–6: 122, 136, 122; terminal seta of IV-leg-6 49 long, the two swimming setae of IV-leg-5 271 long. Fourth leg without claws, legs I–III with a claw with clawlet and large claw blade.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for its brown colour.

Remarks. The new species is most close to A. tabberabbera Harvey , which shares the following characters: dorsal plate with two pairs of glandularia; separate, complete anterior platelet; vgx in the middle of third coxae. However, A. tabberabbera has a stocky palp, PII is without a ventral seta, a long terminal seta of IV-leg-6 and short swimming setae of IV-leg-5. Anisitsiellides tolarda Cook also has the ventroglandularia 5 not fused with the ventral shield. Harvey (1990b) thought that this reflected the teneral nature of the specimen. However, with one more species known with this character, it is clear that this is not dependent on the age of the specimen.

Family Limnesiidae Thor

Figures

Figs 1–6. Anisitsiellides fuscatus n.sp., holotype female:(1) ventral view; (2) dorsalview;(3) genital field; (4) palp; (5) I-leg-4–6; (6) IV-leg-4–6. Scale bars 1–2 200 µm, 3–6 = 50 µm.