Geckobiella pelaezi (Cunliffe)

Paredes-León, Ricardo, Klompen, Hans & Pérez, Tila M., 2012, Systematic revision of the genera Geckobiella Hirst, 1917 and Hirstiella Berlese, 1920 (Acari: Prostigmata: Pterygosomatidae) with description of a new genus for American species parasites on geckos formerly placed in Hirstiella, Zootaxa 3510, pp. 1-40 : 9

Geckobiella pelaezi (Cunliffe) new combination

Hirstiella pelaezi Cunliffe, 1949: 25 .

Diagnosis. Female. Prodorsal shield shaped like an inverted isosceles triangle ( Fig. 2 B); differentiated from the rest of the body by having fine striae; anterior central portion with a notch and a seta on each side (vi); femora II and IV with seta v’ (as in G. trombidiiformis ).

Male. Undescribed.

Type. Female HOLOTYPE ( USNMC 1850), 1 female, 1 deutonymphal PARATYPES ( USNMC).

Type locality. México, Distrito Federal.

Type host. Sceloporus torquatus Wiegmann (recorded originally as Sceloporus ferrari-perezi by Cunliffe 1952).

Material examined. Female HOLOTYPE and 1 female PARATYPE, ex Sceloporus torquatus , MEXICO, Distrito Federal, 14 June 1948 ( USNMC); 5 females, 2 males, 3 deutonymphs, 3 larvae, same data as holotype ( CNAC 006978–86); 1 female, 5 deutonymphs, ex Sceloporus torquatus , MEXICO, Distrito Federal, Ciudad Universitaria UNAM, 26 October 2005, coll. R. Paredes-León ( CNAC 006987–92); 2 larvae, 1 deutonymph ex Sceloporus sp., MEXICO, Distrito Federal, Cuautepec, 19.59380° N, - 99.12832° W, 2810 m asl, 25 June 2009, coll. R. Paredes-León ( CNAC 006993–95).

Remarks. The holotype, paratype and topotypes were available for analysis (deutonymph paratype was not requested). According to Cunliffe (1949a) this species was compared at that time (by C. D. Radford) with three deutonymphs of Berlese´s material of Geckobiella trombidiiformis deposited in BM(NH), and although they are very close, they differ in body size, type of chelicerae, and size of the rostrum ( Cunliffe 1949a). As mentioned above in remarks of G. trombidiiformis , females of this species are deposited at BM(NH) and we do not know the reason why deutonymphs were compared rather than females but we consider that is essential to realize a detailed analysis of all the instars to clearly delimit both species (G. p e l a e z i and G. trombidiiformis ).

This species appears to be a specific ectoparasite of Phrynosomatidae lizards (see Table 2 ). The record on Crotaphytus collaris (Crotaphytidae) could be a misidentification of the host species because according to Ramírez-Bautista et al. (2010) this lizard is not distributed in the locality (Hidalgo, Mexico) mentioned by Hoffmann (1969).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Prodorsal shields of the species of Geckobiella. A, G. trombidiiformis; B, G. p e l a e z i; C, G. boneti; D, G. bakeri; E, G. pyriformis; F, G. javieri; G, G. diolii; H, G. donnae sp. nov. Scale bar 100 µm.