Subaturus spathulasetus, Smit, Harry, 2016

Smit, Harry, 2016, The water mite family Aturidae Thor (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from Ghana, with the description of twelve new species, Zootaxa 4158 (4), pp. 523-543 : 530

Subaturus spathulasetus n. sp.

( Figs. 4A–F )

Material examined. Holotype male, Apkonu stream downstream of falls, Logba Tota, Ghana, 6º 53.054 N 0º 28.024 E, alt. 363 m a.sl., 21-ii-2013 .

Diagnosis. II-leg-5 with a short spatulate seta, I-leg-6 with one normal claw and one enlarged, blade-like claw.

Description. Male: Idiosoma with orange patches, dorsally 267 long and 251 wide, ventrally 332 long. Dorsal shield with three ridges and three pairs of glandularia. First coxae extending far beyond frontal margin. Coxal suture lines obliterated. A ridge present anterolateral to IV-leg sockets. Fourth coxae with three pairs of glandularia, the anterior two pairs in a line. Gonopore 62 long, relatively narrow. Genital field fused with coxal field, with approximately 22 acetabula, most in a row near posterior margin of coxal field, 2–3 acetabula located more anteriorly. Length of P1–5: 18, 34, 18, 49, 22. P4 stocky, ventrally slightly bulging. Length of I-leg-4–6: 54, 82, 72. I-leg-6 enlarged, with one normal claw and one enlarged, blade-like claw (the latter, due to its position in the slide, not well visible). Length of II-leg-4–6: 54, 78, 66. II-leg-5 ventral margin in central part strongly widened, ventrally with one short spatulate seta and two pointed setae (one of these larger than the other). Length of IV-leg-4–6: 78, 100, 80.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for the presence of a spatulate seta of II-leg-5.

Remarks. Two Subaturus species have been described so far, both differing in a wider gonopore, i.e. S. expansus Cook, 1966 and S. exilis Cook, 1966 . Subaturus expansus has a dorsal shield with two pointed projections (absent in the new species), a more slender P4 and II-leg-5 with a pointed seta (blunt in the new species); S. exilis has I-leg-6 with two normal claws, a more slender P4 and the modified seta of II-leg-5 is basally narrowed ( Cook 1966).

Figures

FIGURE 4 A – F. Subaturus spathulasetus n. sp., holotype male. A = dorsum; B = venter; C = palp; D = I-leg- 4 – 6; E = II-leg- 4 – 6 left; F = II-leg- 4 – 6 right. Scale bars = 50 µm.