Luciaphorus, Mahunka, 1981

Khaustov, Alexander A., Shentu, Hsuan & Ho, Chyi-Chen, 2018, Redefinition of the genus Luciaphorus Mahunka, 1981 (Acari: Pygmephoridae) with redescription of L. perNiciosus Rack, 1983 and L. auriculariae Gao, Zou and Jiang, 1990, Zootaxa 4369 (4), pp. 536-556 : 537-539

Genus LuciaphoRus Mahunka, 1981

Type species: Luciaphorus hauseri Mahunka, 1981 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. FEMALE. BODY WELL ScLEROTIzED, OVAL. GNATHOSOMAL cAPSULE SLIGHTLY LONGER THAN ITS WIDTH, DORSALLY WITH ONE OR TWO PAIRS OF cHELIcERAL SETAE (cha, chb), SETAE chb VERY SHORT OR ABSENT; POSTPALPAL SETAE ABSENT; PALPS PROMINENT, WITH ONE OR TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (dFe, dGe), SETA dFe SOMETIMES ABSENT; TIBIAL cLAW WELL DEVELOPED; PALPAL SOLENIDION VERY SMALL, AccESSORY SETIGENOUS STRUcTURE (ass) LARGE, TUBE-SHAPED AND cURVED. SUBcAPITULAR SETAE (m) PRESENT OR ABSENT. PHARYNGEAL PUMPS TRIPARTITE, SITUATED ON LONG AND THIN OESOPHAGUS; PUMP 1 BUTTERFLY-LIKE, SMOOTH, FAR SEPARATED FROM PUMP 2, PUMP 2 LARGE, OVAL, SLIGHTLY LONGER THAN STRIATED SUBREcTANGULAR PUMP 3. GNATHOSOMA RETRAcTABLE INSIDE ANTERIOR PART OF BODY ( FIGS. 8D , 17D ). GNATHOSOMA cONNEcTED TO BODY BY UNUSUALLY LONG SOFT cUTIcLE. PRODORSUM WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (v 1, v 2, sc 2) AND ONE PAIR OF LONG AND NARROW STIGMATA; TRIcHOBOTHRIA cLAVATE WITH cHARAcTERISTIc LONGITUDINALLY STRIATED HEAD ( FIGS. 9C , 17F ). TRAcHEAL TRUNKS WITHOUT ScLEROTIzED SAcS. POSTERIOR PART OF PRODORSAL SHIELD cOVERING ANTERIOR PART OF TERGITE C. TERGITE C WITH TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (c 1, c 2); TERGITE D WITH ONE PAIR OF SETAE (d) AND ONE PAIR OF ROUND cUPULES ia; TERGITE EF WITH TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (e, f) AND ONE PAIR OF ROUND cUPULES im; TERGITE H WITH TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (h 1, h 2) AND ONE PAIR OF ROUND cUPULES ih. COXAL FIELDS I WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (1 a, 1 b, 1 c), SETAE 1 b BIFURcATE; cOXAL FIELDS II WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (2 a, 2 b, 2 c); cOXAL FIELDS III WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (3 a, 3 b, 3 c); cOXAL FIELDS IV WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (4 a, 4 b, 4 c). PSEUDANAL SEGMENT WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (ps 1-3). APODEMES 1 (AP1) WELL DEVELOPED, THIcK, APODEMES 2 (AP2) WELL DEVELOPED, JOINED WITH WELL-DEVELOPED PROSTERNAL APODEME (APPR); APPR JOINED WITH SEJUGAL APODEME (APSEJ); APODEMES 3 (AP3) INDISTINcT OR WEAKLY DEVELOPED; POSTSTERNAL APODEME (APPO) SHORT, FUSED WITH APODEMES 4 (AP4). POSTERIOR MARGIN OF POSTERIOR STERNAL PLATE ENTIRE AND cONVEX IN MIDDLE PART. GENITAL ScLERITES ABSENT. SMALL OVAL GENITAL OPENING VISIBLE NEAR ANTERIOR MARGIN OF PSEUDANAL SEGMENT. LEG I 4 -SEGMENTED, WITH MASSIVE TIBIOTARSUS AND LARGE TARSAL cLAW. UNGUINAL SETAE FUSED TO FORM A STRUcTURE OPPOSING TARSAL cLAW, WITH DELIcATE STRIATION ( FIG. 18C ). TIBIOTARSUS WITHOUT PINNAcULUM. SETA d OF FEMUR I FLATTENED AND SLIGHTLY HOOKED ( FIG. 18D ). SETA k SMOOTH, BLUNT-ENDED. LEGS II–IV EAcH WITH PAIR OF SIMPLE HOOKED cLAWS AND FLIPPER-LIKE EMPODIUM. SETA tc’ ON TARSI II AND III SPINE-LIKE. TIBIAE II-IV WITHOUT SOLENIDIA, BUT TIBIAE II AND III WITH PORE-LIKE STRUcTURE VISIBLE ON ITS TYPIcAL INSERTION POINT ( FIGS. 7 , 9D ). FEMORA III–IV DIVIDED INTO BASI- AND TELOFEMUR. LEG SETATION: LEG I; TR 1 (v’), FE 4 (d, l’, l”, v”), GE 4 (l’, l”, v’, v”), TITA 17(4) (d, l’, l”, v’, v”, k, tc’, tc”, p’, p”, ft’, ft”, pv’, pv”, pl’, pl”, s, ω 1, ω 2, φ 1, φ 2); LEG II: TR 1 (v’), FE 3 (d, l’, v”), GE 3 (l’, l”, v’), TI 4 (d, l’, v’, v”), TA 6(1) (tc’, tc”, pl”, pv’, pv”, u’, ω); LEG III: TR 1 (v’), FE 2 (d, v’), GE 2 (l’, v’), TI 4 (d, l’, v’, v”), TA 6 (tc’, tc”, pl”, pv’, pv”, u’); LEG IV: TR 1 (v’), FE 2 (d, v’), GE 1 (v’), TI 4 (d, l’, v’, v”), TA 6 (pl”, tc’, tc”, u’, pv’, pv”).

MALE. BODY WEAKLY ScLEROTIzED, OVAL. GNATHOSOMAL cAPSULE cOMPLETELY REDUcED AND ONLY VERY SHORT SOLENIDIA AND AccESSORY SETIGENOUS STRUcTURES LOcATED NEAR ANTERIOR MARGIN OF THE BODY ( FIG. 10B ). PRODORSUM WITH FOUR PAIRS OF SETAE (v 1, v 2, sc 1, sc 2). TERGITE CD WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (c 1, c 2, d) AND PAIR OF ROUND cUPULES ia; TERGITE EF WITH TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (e, f) AND ONE PAIR OF ROUND cUPULES im; TERGITE H ROUND, ORIENTED VERTIcALLY, WITH TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (h 1, h 2), USUALLY WITH LARGE ROUND DIMPLES. COXAL FIELDS I WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (1 a, 1 b, 1 c); cOXAL FIELDS II WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (2 a, 2 b, 2 c); cOXAL FIELDS III WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (3 a, 3 b, 3 c); cOXAL FIELDS IV WITH THREE PAIRS OF SETAE (4 a, 4 b, 4 c). PSEUDANAL SEGMENT WITH TWO PAIRS OF SETAE (ps 1-2). APODEMES 1 (AP1) WELL DEVELOPED, THIcK, APODEMES 2 (AP2) WELL DEVELOPED, JOINED WITH WELL-DEVELOPED PROSTERNAL APODEME (APPR); SEJUGAL APODEME (APSEJ) DEVELOPED ONLY LATERALLY; ARcUATE APODEMES 3 (AP3), STRAIGHT APODEMES 4 (AP4) AND POSTSTERNAL APODEME (APPO) WELL DEVELOPED. AEDEAGUS VERY SMALL, DIFFIcULT TO DIScERN. ALL LEGS 5-SEGMENTED. LEG I WITH ONE HOOKED SIMPLE cLAW. SETAE (ft) SHORT, SPINE-LIKE. TARSI II AND III WITH PAIR OF SIMPLE cLAWS AND FLIPPER-LIKE EMPODIUM. TARSUS IV WITH PAIR OF LARGE cLAWS ( FIG. 10D ), WITHOUT EMPODIUM. SETAE pl”, tc’ OF TARSI II AND III, d OF TIBIAE II AND III, AND l’ OF GENU AND TIBIA III SPINE-LIKE. SETA d OF TIBIA IV VERY SHORT, USUALLY HIDDEN UNDER LARGE TIBIAL SOLENIDION; SETAE l’ AND v” OF TIBIA IV SHORT, SPINE-LIKE. LEG SETATION: LEG I; TR 1 (v’), FE 4 (d, l’, l”, v”), GE 4 (l’, l”, v’, v”), TI 6(2) (d, l’, l”, v’, v”, k, φ 1, φ 2), TA 13(2) (tc’, tc”, p’, p”, ft’, ft”, pv’, pv”, pl’, pl”, u’, u”, s, ω 1, ω 2); LEG II: TR 1 (v’), FE 3 (d, l’, v”), GE 3 (l’, l”, v’), TI 4(1) (d, l’, v’, v”, φ), TA 7(1) (tc’, tc”, pl”, pv’, pv”, u’, u”, ω); LEG III: TR 1 (v’), FE 2 (d, v’), GE 2 (l’, v’), TI 4(1) (d, l’, v’, v”, φ), TA 7 (tc’, tc”, pl”, pv’, pv”, u’, u”); LEG IV: TR 1 (v’), FE 2 (d, v’), GE 1 (v’), TI 4(1) (d, l’, v’, v”, φ), TA 6 (pl”, tc’, tc”, u’, pv’, pv”)

Species included. THE GENUS Luciaphorus INcLUDES THREE SPEcIES, L. auriculariae GAO et al., 1990, L. hauseri MAHUNKA, 1981, AND L. perniciosus RAcK, 1983 .

Distribution and habitat. Luciaphorus hauseri WAS REcORDED FROM A TERMITE NEST IN ST. LUcIA, ANTILLES, AND PHORETIc ON THE TERMITE SPEcIES Heterotermes tenuis (HAGEN, 1858) IN BRAzIL ( MAHUNKA 1981; COSTA-LEONARDO & SOARES 1993); L. perniciosus AND L. auriculariae ARE IMPORTANT PESTS OF THE cULTIVATED MUSHROOM Auricularia polytricha IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA ( CHINA, THAILAND) ( RAcK 1983; GAO et al. 1990). Luciaphorus perniciosus ALSO FEEDS ON OTHER cULTIVATED MUSHROOMS LIKE Ganoderma lucidum (FR.), Flammulina velutipes KARST., Lentinus polychrous LEV., AND Lentinus squarrosulus (MONT.) SINGE (BUSSAMAN et al. 2017). THE PHORETIc HOSTS OF L. auriculariae AND L. perniciosus ARE UNKNOWN.

Biology. THE BIOLOGY OF Luciaphorus WAS STUDIED FOR TWO EcONOMIcALLY IMPORTANT SPEcIES, L. perniciosus AND L. auriculariae ( KANTARATANAKUL & JITRAT 1984; ZOU et al. 1993). IN BOTH SPEcIES, THE LIFE cYcLE cONSIST OF TWO PHASES: EGG AND ADULTS. NO LARVAL PHASE WAS FOUND. EGGS DEVELOP AND HATcH WITHIN THE HYSTEROSOMA OF THE PHYSOGASTRIc FEMALE. MATING OccURS BOTH WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE HYSTEROSOMA OF PHYSOGASTRIc FEMALES (ZOU et al. 1993).

Figures

FIGURE 7. DIC micrograph of Luciaphorus perniciosus Rack, 1983, female: leg II in dorsal view. Arrow points to subcuticular invagination.

FIGURE 8. SEM micrograph of Luciaphorus perniciosus Rack, 1983, female: A—dorsal view, B—ventral view, Cprodorsum, D—anterior part of propodosomal plate, E—tergites D, EF and H, F—pseudanal setae.

FIGURE 9. SEM micrograph of Luciaphorus perniciosus Rack, 1983, female:A—dorsal idiosomal seta d, B—leg I in dorsal view, C—trichobothria,D—tibia III in dorsal view, arrow points to pore-like structure.

FIGURE 17. SEM micrograph of Luciaphorus auriculariae Gao, Zou and Jiang, 1990, female: A—dorsal view, B—ventral view, C—prodorsum,D—propodosomal plate, E—hysterosoma in ventral view, F—trichobothria.

FIGURE 18. SEM micrograph of Luciaphorus auriculariae Gao, Zou and Jiang, 1990, female: A—pseudanal setae, B—leg I in ventral view, C—tibiotarsal claw, D—seta don femur I.

FIGURE10. SEM micrographof Luciaphorus perniciosusRack, 1983, male:A—dorsal view, B—anterior margin of the body in dorsal view, C—segments EF and H in dorsal view,D –tarsus IV in dorsolateral view.