Zerconopsis Hull

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 : 31

Zerconopsis Hull

FEMALE

Gnathosoma. Anterior margin of epistome with three denticulate projections. Seta h1 longer than h2 and pc, longer than or about as long as h3; insertion of h2 slightly anterior to insertion of h3. Inner palp trochanter seta elongate. Deutosternum wide (relatively narrow in Z. fungicola Ishikawa; apparently very narrow in Z. sinuata Ishikawa), with delimiting lateral lines (in some species weakly defined) and 6–8 rows of 7–17 denticles each. Corniculi 2–3 times as long as their basal widths, with pointed tips, subparallel. Palp tarsal apotele two-tined. Cheliceral digits of similar lengths, elongate; fixed digit with 1–4 teeth in addition to apical tooth; movable digit with two teeth in addition to apical tooth.

Idiosoma. Oval or ovoid. Dorsum: podonotal and opisthonotal shields fused, ornamented, covering entire body dorsum or nearly so, with or without lateral incisions, without transverse and nearly straight lines, delineated strip along lateral margins or posterior tubercles; anterior end of dorsal shield usually strongly deflexed, although extending to anterior margin of idiosoma, with j1 inserted right at the edge of the shield and directed forward. No supernumerary setae on dorsal shield or on unsclerotised lateral cuticle (except in Z. pristis Halliday, Walter & Lindquist ). Podonotal region of shield with 17–22 pairs of setae; r3 inserted on dorsal shield or on lateral cuticle, usually similar to neighbouring setae. Opisthonotal region of shield usually with 14 pairs of setae (S2 absent; 15 in Z. pristis and Z. unaka De Leon ). Unsclerotised lateral cuticle with 0–10 pairs of setae; no UR setae. Dorsal and lateral setae of idiosoma smooth, most acicular and usually much shorter than distance to subsequent setae (several setae as long as distance to subsequent setae or longer in Z. limoniae Rack ); some setae longer and/or paddleshaped (always Z5; often r2, r3, s4, s5, s6, Z3). Vent er: presternal platelets usually indistinct (distinct in Z. apodius Karg and Z. remiger (Kramer)) . Sternal shield with three pairs of setae (st1–st3) and three pairs of lyrifissures (iv1– iv3; the latter on posterior shield margin); st1–st3 of similar lengths (st1 shorter than st2 and st 3 in Z. limoniae ); st2 usually equidistant to st1 and st3 or slightly closer to st3; posterior shield margin usually truncate to slightly concave (distinctly concave in Z. remulatus Athias-Henriot ). Seta st4 inserted on unsclerotised cuticle. Genital shield not wide enough to include iv5; st5 usually off genital shield (on shield in Z. pristis and Z. remiger ); posteriorly truncate to slightly convex (distinctly convex in Z. remulatus and Z. sinuata Ishikawa). Two pairs of metapodal plates (one pair in Z. decemremiger Evans & Hyatt and Z. remiger ).With 1–4 pairs of elongate platelets between genital and ventrianal shields. Opisthogaster with 7–10 pairs of setae in addition to circumanal setae, of which 3–6 pairs on broad, ellipsoidal to semicircular ventrianal shield; para-anal setae inserted usually at level of posterior margin of anal opening or slightly anterior to it (occasionally inserted between levels of posterior margin and mid-length of anal opening), usually slightly shorter than or as long as post-anal seta (occasionally much shorter; slightly longer in Z. slovacus Mašán ). Anal opening small, 1/6 to 1/10 of shield length, usually separated from posterior shield margin. Anterior section of endopodal shield fused with sternal shield; section behind sternal shield reduced to a V-shaped platelet between coxae III–IV. Exopodal shield often fragmented into a triangular platelet between coxae II–III, a similar platelet between coxae III–IV, and apparently a platelet extending around posterior margin of coxa IV.

Peritreme. Extending from stigma to region between levels of j1 and z1, about as wide as or slightly narrower than diameter of stigma; not visible dorsally in some species. Peritrematic shield usually wide, fused anteriorly with dorsal shield near z1 and with exopodal shield beside coxa IV.

Legs. All legs with pretarsi. Setation of legs I–IV, genu: 11 (or 12), 10, 8, 7; tibia: 11 (or 12), 9, 7, 7. Many setae of all legs inserted on tubercles; leg II of some species stouter than other legs. Tarsi of legs II–IV with ad2 and pd2 very long and curved.

MALE

Gnathosoma similar to female, but fixed cheliceral digit with 0–3 teeth in addition to apical tooth and movable digit with 1–2 teeth in addition to apical tooth; spermatodactyl slightly shorter than movable digit, slightly curved or about straight; tip broadly rounded or not. Dorsal shield with ornamentation similar to female, but usually broader, including a larger number of r - R setae ; with fewer setae on unsclerotised lateral cuticle. Sternogenital shield with five pairs of setae (st1–st5) and three pairs of lyrifissures (iv1–iv3). Endopodal shield fused with sternogenital shield between coxae I–III and reduced to an elongate plate beside coxa IV. Without metapodal plates. Ventrianal shield about as large as in female, with 7–8 pairs of setae in addition to circumanal setae. Apparently with 0–2 pairs of setae on unsclerotised opisthogastric cuticle. Exopodal and peritrematic shields similar to female. Legs without spine-shaped setae.