Opilioseius Lindquist & Moraza

De Moraes, Gilberto J., Britto, Erika P. J., Mineiro, Jefferson L. De C. & Halliday, Bruce, 2016, Catalogue of the mite families Ascidae Voigts & Oudemans, Blattisociidae Garman and Melicharidae Hirschmann (Acari: Mesostigmata), Zootaxa 4112 (1), pp. 1-299 : 43-44

Opilioseius Lindquist & Moraza

FEMALE

Gnathosoma. Anterior margin of epistome convex and denticulate. Palp coxal seta (pc) longer than h 3 in turn longer than h1 and h2, which are of similar lengths; insertion of h2 slightly posterior to insertion of h3. Inner palp trochanter seta only slightly longer than outer seta, not elongate. Deutosternum moderately wide, with delimiting lateral lines subparallel beside distal five rows of denticles, slightly convergent posteriorly between fifth and sixth rows; lateral lines absent between sixth and seventh rows; distal five rows with 5–7 denticles each; sixth and seventh rows multidenticulate, extending beyond level of projection of lateral lines; with arched rows of denticles antiaxial of lateral lines between levels of third and fourth and fourth and fifth rows of denticles. Corniculi about twice as long as their basal widths, well separated from each other, subparallel. Cheliceral digits of similar lengths, without any conspicuous process along antiaxial or paraxial surfaces basal to the digits; fixed digit with a row of coarse teeth along entire length of masticatory surface and offset subapical tooth; pilus dentilis setiform, minute; movable cheliceral digit with row of several coarse teeth, and two fine paraxial grooves extending proximally and ventrally from the bases of subapical teeth.

Idiosoma. Ovoid. Dorsum: dorsal shield lightly sclerotised, smooth, without lateral incisions at region of fusion or delineated strip along lateral margins; anterior end of dorsal shield not strongly deflexed. No supernumerary setae on dorsal shield. Podonotal region of shield with 15 pairs of setae, including r3,which is not perpendicular to lateral margin but distinctly longer than neighbouring setae. Opisthonotal region of shield with eight pairs of setae. Unsclerotised lateral cuticle with three pairs of setae. Dorsal and lateral idiosomal setae of markedly variable lengths, some very short and others very long, acicular and smooth. Venter: presternal region with weakly developed platelets confluent with sternal shield. Sternal shield with three pairs of setae of similar lengths (st1– st3); iv3 absent; st2 slightly closer to st3 than to st1; posterior shield margin slightly concave. Seta st4 inserted on metasternal plates. Genital shield not wide enough to include iv5, but including st5; anterior region of genital shield convex; posterior region truncate but with rounded posterolateral angles. Without metapodal plates. No platelets between genital and ventrianal shields. Opisthogaster with seven pairs of setae in addition to circumanal setae, of which two pairs on ovoid ventrianal shield; para-anal setae inserted slightly anterior to posterior margin of anal opening, about as long as post-anal seta. Anal opening not enlarged, about 1/3 of shield length, slightly posterior to shield centre. Anterior section of endopodal shield weakly developed, fused with sternal shield; section behind sternal shield corresponding to a pair of weakly developed plates of irregular shape. Exopodal shield shaped as a narrow strip along coxae II–IV and small narrow remnants between coxa II–III and III–IV, the latter fused with the main part of the shield.

Peritreme. Shortened, extending from stigma to region between levels of s2–s4, slightly narrower than diameter of stigma. Peritrematic shield wide, fused with dorsal shield immediately anterior to level of s1 and broadly fused with exopodal shield beside coxa IV.

Legs. Median section of pulvilli of legs I–IV rounded. Setation of legs I–IV, genu: 12, 10, 8, 9; tibia: 12, 10, 8, 10. Leg II not thickened and without spine-shaped setae. Legs elongate, especially I and IV, two to three times as long as dorsal shield. Legs II–IV with tarsus 3–4 times as long as tibia. Tarsi II–IV with setae ad1 and pd1 short (about 1/10 as long as pretarsi) and with slender acute apical process ventrally. Femur II lacking al2; genu I and tibia I each lacking av2; genua II and III lacking pv1.

Spermathecal apparatus. Phytoseiid-type.

MALE

Gnathosoma similar to female, but with corniculi more widely spaced, fixed digit with eight teeth in addition to apical tooth, movable digit with three teeth in addition to apical tooth; spermatodactyl about as long as movable digit, slightly curved and bilobate distally, with a distally acute ventral scale that projects slightly beyond tip of spermatodactyl. Dorsal shield with ornamentation similar to female, but broader, including r5 and more broadly fused with peritrematic shield at level between r3 and z4; with fewer r - R setae on unsclerotised lateral cuticle. Shape and relative lengths of setae similar to female. Without presternal platelets. Sternogenital shield with five pairs of setae (st1–st5) and two pairs of lyrifissures (iv1–iv2; iv3 absent), with deep indentations immediately anteriad and posterior to st4; posterior margin truncate. Endopodal shield not fused with sternogenital shield, reduced to an elongate platelet beside coxa II and another elongate platelet between coxae II–III. Without metapodal plates. Ventrianal shield small, oval (longer axis transverse), bearing all four pairs of opisthogastric setae in addition to circumanal setae (including Jv5). Exopodal shield indistinct between coxae II–IV. Peritrematic shield fused with exopodal shield beside coxa IV, extending around its posterior margin. Leg setation similar to female.