Tegopalpus Womersley, 1940

Beard, Jennifer J., Seeman, Owen D. & Bauchan, Gary R., 2014, Tenuipalpidae (Acari: Trombidiformes) from Casuarinaceae (Fagales), Zootaxa 3778 (1), pp. 1-157 : 128

Tegopalpus Womersley, 1940

Type species. Tegopalpus conicus Womersley, 1940 , by monotypy.

Diagnosis. All life stages: dorsal opisthosoma with 9 pairs of short broadly lanceolate setae; c2, d2, e2 and f2 absent; setae h2 similar in size and form to other dorsal setae; palps 3-segmented, palp setal formula 0, 0, 2(1); immature stages with anterior of prodorsum smoothly rounded, without projections/notches; ventral plate absent; 3 pairs of pseudanal setae (ps1–3) on weakly developed membranous anal plates. Adult female: gnathosoma completely concealed by prodorsum; cuticle between gnathosoma and prodorsum produced into 1 pair of blunt, broadly triangular membranous lobes (with median notch formed between the lobes), anterior to and folded under anterior margin of prodorsum and setae v2, often appear slightly retracted back into body; genital plate weakly developed, membranous; metapodal plates not developed; coxae I without 1c; trochanters I–IV 0-0-1-0 (v ′ absent on tr I–IV); femora I–IV 3-3 -2-1; genua I–IV nude; tibiae I–IV 3-3 -2-2 (v′′ absent on ti I–IV); tarsi I–IV without tc′′. Solenidia of male of similar thickness and length as in female.

Remarks. This monotypic genus is close to Chaudhripalpus , differing only in having a three-segmented palp (instead of four) and tibiae I–IV lacking setae v′′. Here, we tentatively retain Chaudhripalpus as a separate genus, as the three-segmented palp of Tegopalpus is autapomorphic within the Tegopalpinae and mites found on Casuarinaceae .