Hydryphantes

Sabatino, Antonio Di, Gerecke, Reinhard, Gledhill, Terence & Smit, Harry, 2009, On the taxonomy of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) described from the Palaearctic, part 2: Hydryphantoidea and Lebertioidea, Zootaxa 2266, pp. 1-34 : 14-15

Hydryphantes (s.str.) ruber (Geer, 1787)

Hydryphantes spinipes Walter, 1922 , nov. syn.

Material examined: Hydryphantes spinipes holotype, NHMB, Switzerland, "Imago coll. Borner 52", on two slides, "XXI/69" idiosoma, "XXI/70" gnathosoma; paratype "Cotypus coll. Borner 52 XVII/85", idiosoma and gnathosoma.

Discussion: Hydryphantes spinipes attracted little attention and the type series has remained the only available material.

The specimens have a characteristically elongated frontal shield, a rather stout palp and a gnathosoma with a relatively long rostrum. The following details and measurements were made (holotype, paratype in parentheses): Frontal shield total L/medial L/W, 310/220/290 (390/250/360); swimming setae II-L-5 8 (7), III- L-3/4/5 3/8/10 (3/9/11), IV-L-3/4/5 4/10/10 (3/12/12); genital flap L 200 (230), Ac-1/-2/-3 L 45/30/40 (45/?/ 50); gnathosoma/rostrum L 240/90 (270/110); chelicera basal segment/claw L/H 230/100/90 (250/115/90); P- 1-5 L/H 55/65, 110/90, 65/75, 170/45, 40/16 (60/75, 125/95, 75/85, 185/52, 42/18), palp total L 440 (487), P- 2/P-4 L ratio 0.65 (0.68), setation P-1-4 2, 9, 3, 3 (3, 14, 3, 3). The sex of each of the two specimens is unclear, possibly the holotype is a male, the paratype a female.

From all points of view they fit the description of H. hellichi Thor, 1899 , a species synonymized by Lundblad (1962) with H. ruber . In fact, Lundblad demonstrated that specimens with an elongated frontal shield (as described for H. hellichi ) could coexist with specimens bearing a more compact, ruber -like frontal shield, and that within a single population intermediate character states could bridge the gap between the two extremes. Thus, H. spinipes is a junior synonym of H. ruber .