Torrenticola longitibia Fisher & Dowling

Fisher, J. Ray, Fisher, Danielle M., Skvarla, Michael J., Nelson, Whitney A. & Dowling, Ashley P. G., 2017, Revision of torrent mites (Parasitengona, Torrenticolidae, Torrenticola) of the United States and Canada: 90 descriptions, molecular phylogenetics, and a key to species, ZooKeys 701, pp. 1-496 : 1

Torrenticola longitibia Fisher & Dowling sp. n.

Material examined.

HOLOTYPE (♂): from USA, Tennessee, Monroe County, beside Forest Route 35 (35°21'47"N, 84°9'47"W), 12 Sep 2009, by IM Smith, IMS090112, DNA 2979.

PARATYPES (0 ♀; 1 ♂): Tennessee, USA: 1 ♂ from USA, Tennessee, Monroe County, beside Forest Route 35 (35°21'47"N, 84°9'47"W), 12 Sep 2009, by IM Smith, IMS090112.

Type deposition.

Holotype (♀) deposited in the CNC; paratypes (1 ♂) deposited in the ACUA.

Diagnosis.

Torrenticola longitibia are similar to other members of the Raptor Group ( T. gnoma , T. irapalpa , T. mjolniri , T. elusiva , T. racupalpa , T. raptor , T. danielleae , T. daemon , and T. ivyae ) in having round bodies; Dgl-4 close to muscles scars; long, thin subcapitular rostra; and long, thin pedipalp tibiae. T. longitibia can be differentiated from all other members of the Raptor Group (both males and females) by having a longer femur with respect to the genu (femur/genu = 2.1-2.17 in T. longitibia , 1.66-2.00 in others).

Description.

Female unknown.

Male (Figure 133) (n = 2) (holotype measurements in parentheses when available) with characters of the genus with following specifications.

Dorsum- (530-560 (530) long; 420-430 (420) wide) circular with navy blue coloration posteriorly extending in a thin strip anteriorly to the edge of the dorsal plate. Anterio-medial platelets (122.5-132.5 (122.5) long; 62.5-72.5 (62.5) wide). Anterio-lateral platelets (172.5-180 (172.5) long; 78.75-80 (80) wide) free from dorsal plate. Dgl-4 much closer to the muscle scars than to the dorsum edge (distance between Dgl-4 155-175 (155)). Dorsal plate proportions: dorsum length/width 1.26-1.30 (1.26); dorsal width/distance between Dgl-4 2.46-2.71 (2.71); anterio-medial platelet length/width 1.83-1.96 (1.96); anterio-lateral platelet length/width 2.16-2.29 (2.16); anterio-lateral/anterio-medial length 1.36-1.41 (1.41).

Gnathosoma - Subcapitulum (300-315 (300) long (ventral); 235-245 (235) long (dorsal); 110-117.5 (110) tall) colorless. Rostrum (135-137.5 (135) long; 32.5-32.5 (32.5) wide) elongate. Chelicerae (325-325 (325) long) with curved fangs (50-50 (50) long). Subcapitular proportions: ventral length/height 2.68-2.73 (2.73); rostrum length/width 4.15-4.23 (4.15). Pedipalps elongate (especially tibiae) with tuberculate ventral extensions on femora and genua. Palpomeres: trochanter (42.5-45 (42.5) long); femur (125-131.25 (125) long); genu (57.5-62.5 (57.5) long); tibia (110-110 (110) long; 20-20 (20) wide); tarsus (15-15 (15) long). Palpomere proportions: femur/genu 2.10-2.17 (2.17); tibia/femur 0.84-0.88 (0.88); tibia length/width 5.50-5.50 (5.50).

Venter - (660-710 (660) long; 500-550 (500) wide) colorless. Gnathosomal bay (150-155 (150) long; 75-85 (85) wide). Cxgl-4 far from apex. Medial suture (60-60 (60) long). Genital plates (137.5-150 (137.5) long; 115-122.5 (115) wide). Additional measurements: Cx-1 (270-300 (270) long (total); 130-140 (130) long (medial)); Cx-3 (320-325 (320) wide); anterior venter (205-220 (205) long). Ventral proportions: gnathosomal bay length/width 1.76-2.07 (1.76); anterior venter/genital field length 1.47-1.49 (1.49); anterior venter length/genital field width 1.78-1.80 (1.78); anterior venter/medial suture 3.42-3.67 (3.42).

Immatures unknown.

Etymology.

Specific epithet ( longitibia ) refers to the long, thin pedipalpal tibiae (longus, L. long; tibia, L. tibia).

Distribution.

Known only from Monroe County, Tennessee (Figure 132).

Remarks.

Torrenticola longitibia is known only from two males, only one of which was available for molecular data and that specimen groups with other members of the Raptor Complex with high support. In all analyses, T. longitibia groups with T. mjolniri , and these species are more than 4% different in COI sequence from each other. The position of that clade varies with dataset. Based upon overall similarity, phylogenetic position, shape of the pedipalps, and distribution, we were able to place this species within the Raptor Identification Group.

This species hypothesis is supported by high divergence between species (3-15%), and by the morphological characters outlined in the diagnosis.