Megisthanus leviathanicus Seeman, 2017

Seeman, Owen D., 2019, The megisthanid mites (Mesostigmata: Megisthanidae) of Australia, Zootaxa 4563 (1), pp. 1-40 : 5

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4563.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A44D4C11-ADA1-48A8-9F00-B46BDF7B2A49
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5924243
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03B63A50-8D79-017B-FF60-135F0481472B
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Megisthanus leviathanicus Seeman, 2017
status

Treatment

Megisthanus leviathanicus Seeman, 2017: 3 (online edition)

Material examined. In addition to those listed in Seeman (2017): Australia, Queensland, ex passalid: 1 female, Atherton Tableland, 21.iii.1945 ( J17327 View Materials ). 2 males, Atherton Tableland, 28.iii.1945 ( J17314 View Materials ; J17315 View Materials –16, chelicerae on separate slide). No host given: 1 female, 2 males, dorsum and chelicerae of another male specimen, Eubenangee, 11.xii.1949, D.C. Brooks ( J17318 View Materials –23, J17358 View Materials –61). All in SAM .

Diagnosis: see Seeman (2017).

Remarks. Megisthanus leviathanicus belongs to a small group of species that have females with tapering or lyriform dorsal shields. The only other similar species are M. caudatus , M. jacobsoni and M. manonae sp. nov. The former two species are highly distinctive in also having an elongate, hourglass-shaped ventrianal shield, which M. leviathanicus and M. manonae lack. Megisthanus leviathanicus and M. manonae are separated based on the shape of the female’s body setae (see the differential diagnosis for M. manonae ).