Petralycus brevicornis Theron, 1977

Uusitalo, Matti, Ueckermann, Edward A. & Theron, Pieter D., 2020, A review of the family Alycidae (Acari, Acariformes) from South Africa, Zootaxa 4858 (3), pp. 301-340 : 336

Petralycus brevicornis Theron, 1977

( Figs. 134E, F , 135A, C )

Petralycus brevicornis Theron, 1977: 42 , figs. 16–29.

Description. Dorsum ( Figs. 134E, F , 135B ). Length ca. 480 μm; irregularily arranged dorsal setae slightly swollen; tiny additional setae on ventral side; naso short, broad at base, abruptly tapering to a sharp point, setae vi twice as long as setae sce, setae in and exp absent, filiform sensilla sci sparsely ciliated and clavate sensilla ve barbed.

Venter. Genital valves each with 16-17 genital setae; 4 anal setae per valve.

Gnathosoma ( Fig. 135C ). Pair of smooth cheliceral setae dorsally; rutella pointed; no additional setae on subcapitulum (three pairs present); palpal tarsi with enlarged solenidion reaching over two mucronate, terminal eupathids.

Legs. Solenidial formula for tarsi, tibiae, genua and femora on legs I, II, III and IV, respectively: 1-1-0-0, 2-2-2- 2, 5-1-2-2, 2-0-0-0, all solenidia baculiform, also smaller solenidia are subequal in width, i.e. they are not tapering as the ceratiform solenidia do; tarsi I with several barbed eupathids and a spine-like famulus distally.

Type material examined. Holotype male from pasture soil, Badplaas , MPUMALANGA PROVINCE, April 1972, K.N. de Kock. Deposited at the Mite Collection of ARC-Plant Health and Protection, Pretoria, South Africa.

Differential diagnosis. This neotrichous species can be differentiated from all the other petralycines by having only two pairs of prodorsal setae (vi and sce) present (the pairs of setae in and exp are absent), an abruptly tapering, short naso and setae vi two times longer than setae sce.

Figures

FIGURE 134. Primary pattern of cuticle in the subfamilies Alycinae and Bimichaeliinae.A, B—primary pattern by clumps and rosettes of large lamellae, secondary pattern absent in Proteromichaelia sp. (Bimichaeliinae: Proteromichaeliini), C, D—striate integument with small lamellae in Amphialycus sp., E, F—striate integument with small lamellae in Petralycus sp. (Alycinae: Petralycini).

FIGURE 135. Details of Alycidae. A—prodorsum of Petralycus longicornis, B—prodorsum of P. brevicornis, C—palpal tarsi with solenidion ω extending partly over a pair of distal mucronate eupathids, Petralycus sp., D—strongly elongated chelicerae with 5 teeth similar in size on each fixed digit and 2 claws and a clawless empodium (arrow), Petralycus sp., E—cheliceral shafts abruptly tapering into chelae with 2 strong teeth on each fixed digit, Alycus sp., F—cheliceral shafts evenly tapering, elongated, Amphialycus sp. Abbreviations: Na—naso, Ch—chelicera, chb—cheliceral seta, P—palp, I—first leg.