Gondwanabates crassipalpis, Smit, Harry, 2015

Smit, Harry, 2015, The water mite family Hygrobatidae Koch in Australia. The genera Aspidiobatella Cook, Australorivacarus Viets, Gondwanabates Imamura and Rhynchaustrobates Cook (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Zootaxa 4033 (4), pp. 567-583 : 570-571

Gondwanabates crassipalpis n. sp.

( Figs 2 A–G)

Type material. Holotype male, Dalrymple Creek, Goomburra Forest Reserve, Queensland, Australia, 27º 58.781 S 152º 20.621 E, 5-xi-2005 (QM). Paratypes: one male, one female (QM), one male ( RMNH), same data as holotype.

Diagnosis. Posterior dorsal plate with four pairs of glandularia, anterior dorsal plate undivided; palp very stocky, P-2 ventrally with large teeth; anterior plate of female with a longitudinal band without the reticulate pattern, but not divided.

Description. Idiosoma colour lilac. Male. Idiosoma ventrally 543 (543) long, dorsally 462 (-486) long, width 389 (405–421). Dorsal and ventral shield present. Dorsum with two undivided dorsal plates, anterior plate 243 (251–259) long, posterior plate 194 (170–203) long; anterior plate with a reticulate pattern; posterior plate with four pairs of glandularia, central part with a reticulate pattern. Anterior coxal plates extending beyond anterior idiosoma margin. Capitulum plus anchoral process 235 long. Genital field with three pairs of acetabula, gonopore 74 long. Length of P1–5: 18, 82, 28, 46, 24. Palp very stocky, P2 with three large teeth and a small ventrodistal projection, P3 with a ventral and a ventrodistal projections, P4 with a long ventral seta and a shorter dorsal seta, P5 with two small ventral projections. Length of I-leg-4–6: 120, 94, 88. I-leg-4 enlarged, with a long seta, I-leg-5 with a ventral, somewhat curved heavy seta. Length of IV-leg-4–6: 122, 138, 110. Swimming setae absent.

Female. Idiosoma ventrally 583 long, dorsally 502 long and 437 wide. Dorsum with two plates, anterior plate 243 long, posterior plate 219 long. Anterior plate with a reticulate pattern except for a longitudinal band in the middle, but plate not divided. Posterior plate with four pairs of glandularia, central part with a reticulate pattern. Anterior coxal plates extending beyond anterior idiosoma margin. Capitulum plus anchoral process 267 long. Genital field with three pairs of acetabula, gonopore 100 long. Length of P1-P5: 20, 96, 40, 50, 28; palp as in male. Length of I-leg-4–6: 132, 102, 96. Length of IV-leg-4–6: 138, 146, 110. Legs as in male.

Etymology. Named for its very stocky palp.

Remarks. The new Gondwanabates species differs from populations of G. vietsi (Imamura, 1984) with the posterior dorsal plate with four pairs of glandularia in the colour (more reddish in G. vietsi ), and the ventrodistal projections of P2, and the ventral and ventrodistal projection of P3 (both absent in G. vi e t s i). All other known Gondwanabates species have the posterior dorsal plate with either two or three pairs of glandularia.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Gondwanabates crassipalpis n. sp., A – E holotype male, F – G paratype female; A. dorsum; B. venter; C. right palp; D. left palp; E. I-leg- 4 – 6; F. venter; G. dorsum. Scale bars = 50 µm.