Discourella pandui, Kontschán, JenŐ, 2012

Kontschán, JenŐ, 2012, New Uropodina mites from India (Acari: Mesostigmata), Zootaxa 3518, pp. 25-44 : 40-41

Discourella pandui sp. nov.

( Figs 54–68 )

Material examined. Holotype. Female. India, Berijam, Palni Hills , Tamil Nandu , Nature Reserve , extracted from litter of shola, 11 April 1980. Gy. Topál coll . Paratypes. One male and one female in MHNG , two females, two males, one nymph in HNHM . Locality and date same as in holotype.

Description. Female. Length of idiosoma 710–750 µm, width 430–450 µm (n=4). Shape of body oval, caudally rounded.

Dorsal idiosoma ( Fig. 54 ). Dorsal and marginal shields fused anteriorly, all dorsal setae short (ca. 8–9 µm) and needle-like. Dorsal shield covered by shallow oval pits. Marginal shield anteriorly with two small, lateral horns, bearing setae similar in shape and length to dorsal setae, surface of marginal shield smooth. Caudal area of marginal shield with longer setae (ca. 19–20 µm) situated on small platelets ( Fig. 55 ).

Ventra l idiosoma ( Fig. 56 ). Surface of sternal shield smooth, except anterior area, which has a reticulate pattern ( Fig. 58 ). Five pairs of smooth and needle-like sternal setae present, St1 short (ca. 9 µm), placed near anterior margin of genital shield, St2 (ca. 11 µm) at level of posterior margin of coxae II, St3 (ca. 11 µm) at central level of coxae III, St4 (ca. 11 µm) at central level of coxae IV, St5 (ca. 13 µm) near basal margin of genital shield. Ventral setae on anterior area of ventral shield smooth and robust (ca. 40 µm), those on caudal area of ventral shield needle-like (ca. 30 µm). Postanal seta absent, two pairs of adanal setae short and needlelike (ca. 11–12 µm). Surface of ventral shield covered by irregular pits, two strongly sclerotised ventral grooves situated posterior to pedofossae IV. Anal opening oval, located on a small anal mound. Pedofossae deep, their surface smooth, without separate furrows for tarsi IV. Genital shield linguliform, anteriorly with crown-like process, its surface with reticulate pattern ( Fig. 58 ). Stigmata situated between coxae II and III, post-stigmatal part of peritremes absent, pre-stigmatal area long, apically hook-shaped, with two short lateral branches on central part ( Fig. 57 ). Tritosternum with vase-like base, laciniae divided into three pilose branches ( Fig. 59 ).

Gnathosoma ( Fig. 59 ). Hypostomal setae h1 long (ca. 38 µm), smooth, h2 (ca. 12 µm) and h4 (ca. 11 µm) serrate, h3 (ca. 16 µm) marginally pilose. Corniculi short and horn-like, internal malae longer than corniculi, marginally pilose. Epistome marginally pilose ( Fig. 60 ). Fixed digit of chelicera longer than movable digit and bearing one tooth, internal sclerotised node absent ( Fig. 61 ). Palp trochanter with two marginally serrate setae, other setae on palp smooth.

Legs. Each leg with ambulacral claws and with smooth and needle-like setae ( Figs 62–65 ).

Male. Length of idiosoma 740–780 µm, width 440–470 µm (n=11). Shape and dorsal idiosoma as in female.

Ventral idiosoma ( Fig. 66 ). Surface of sternal shield smooth, five pairs of short (ca. 13–17 µm) and needle-like sternal setae present. St1 placed at level of anterior margin of coxae II, St2 at level of posterior margin of coxae II, St3 at central level of coxae III, St4 at central level of coxae IV, St5 at level of posterior margin of coxae IV. Genital shield oval, without sculptural pattern and situated between coxae IV.

Gnathosoma. As in female.

Deutonymph. Length of idiosoma 660 μm, width 440 μm (n =1). Shape oval, posterior margin rounded.

Dorsal idiosoma ( Fig. 67 ). Dorsal shield linguliform, without ornamentation, only muscle scars visible, bearing short and needle-like setae (ca. 10–11 µm). Several oval platelets present on submarginal area, all of them bearing needle-like setae (ca. 12–13 µm).

Ventra l idiosoma ( Fig. 68 ). Sternal setae short (ca. 9–10 µm), St1 placed near anterior margin of sternal shield, St2 short, at level of posterior margin of coxae II, St3 at central level of coxae III, St4 at level of anterior margin of coxae IV, St5 near posterior margin of sternal shield. Sternal shield with smooth surface. Ventrianal shield oval and ornamented by maculate sculptural pattern and bearing four pairs of needle-like setae (ca. 7 µm).

Etymology. I named the new species after king Pandu, father of Arjuna and four other sons in the Mahabharata.

Notes. The new species belongs to the Discourella baloghi -species group ( Hirschmann 1972a) on the basis of the following characters: marginal shield not reduced caudally, pygidial shield and central elevation absent on dorsal shield. Including the new species, 13 species currently belong to this group. Six species of this group ( D. baloghi Hirschmann & Zirngiebl-Nicol , D. baloghisimilis WiŠniewski , D. fissilis Hirschmann , D. ditricha Hirschmann , D. lindquisti Hiramatsu & Hirschmann , D. hirschmanni Hiramatsu and D. sivestrisa Hiramatsu ) do not possess a crown-like apical process on the female genital shield, but the new one and six previously described species ( D. bulgarica Kontschán , D. helvetica Kontschán , D. crucisimilis Hirschmann , D. aokii Hiramatsu , D. torpida Hiramatsu & Hirschmann and D. koreae Hirschmann ) do have this apical process. One species is described on the basis of males ( D. morikawai Hiramatsu ), this species has ornamented sternal shield, but sternal shield of the male of new one is smooth. The characteristic differences among the species possessing crown-like apical process on female genital shield are presented in Table 4 .

Figures

FIGURES 54 – 58. Discourella pandui sp. nov., holotype, female. 54. Body in dorsal view; 55. Caudal setae; 56. Body in ven-

FIGURES 59 – 65. Discourella pandui sp. nov., holotype, female. 59. Ventral view of gnathosoma and first two segments of palp, tritosternum and coxae I; 60. Epistome; 61. Chelicera; 62. Leg I; 63. Leg II; 64. Leg III; 65. Leg IV (all legs in ventral view).

FIGURES 66 – 68. Discourella pandui sp. nov., paratypes. 66. Intercoxal area of male. 66. Body in dorsal view of deutonymph; 68. Body in ventral view of deutonymph.