Wandesia propinqua Walter, 1947

Sabatino, Antonio Di, Gerecke, Reinhard, Gledhill, Terence & Smit, Harry, 2009, On the taxonomy of water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) described from the Palaearctic, part 2: Hydryphantoidea and Lebertioidea, Zootaxa 2266, pp. 1-34 : 17

Wandesia propinqua Walter, 1947

Syn. to W. stygophila auct.: Rejected synonymy.

Material examined: Holotype 3 (?), NHMB Romania, Siebenbürgen, Baratka, leg. Chappuis VII 1942, XV/ 13, 1513.

Description: The only known specimen of this species was considered by Walter (1947) a male due to the presence of genital setae and club-shaped setae on I-L. But, these character states are found in both sexes of other species in the subgenus, and the absence of an ejaculatory complex from the undissected idiosoma is a strong argument for considering the specimen a female. The following redescription is only partly based on Walter's measurements (these, in his later papers, generally have an error in the magnitude of> 10 %): Idiosoma L/W ca. 2000/400; remnants of lateral eye lenses visible in anterodorsal part of the membranous fold extending between Cx-II and Cx-III; Cx-I+II L/W 120/55, with straight medial margin, not forming a rounded gnathosomal bay, in the posterior part subrectangular; C-III+IV L/W 105/60, Cx-III anteromedially obtuse-angled, Cx-IV triangular. I-L-1-6 L/H 45/34, 50/30, 60/30, 65/30, 75/28, 95/25 (total L 390). Terminal segments of I/II-L bearing at the posterior margin of the claw furrow one rigid seta, in its distal part slightly swollen, but apically pointed. Genital field length 110, Ac-1-3 diameter 23/25/26, leaving only small interspaces (left Ac-1 lacking), flanked by faintly sclerotized flap remnants on the intact right side bearing 7 setae (one anterior to Ac-1, two in each interspace between Ac, one flanking, and one posterior to, Ac-3. Chelicera basal segment L 145, claw 53, height 30. Palp total L 181, rather slender, L/H P-1-5: 20/25, 48/30, 27/42, 67/25, 20/10 (total L 181); L ratio P-2/4 0.72, setation P-1-4: 1, 4, 1, 3; P-5 with relatively long, parallel claws.

Discussion: The synonymization of this species with W. stygophila was first proposed by E. Angelier (1954), and later accepted by many authors ( Petrova 1968, Szalay 1970, K.O.Viets 1978). The idea is suggestive because some of the types of W. stygophila and the holotype of W. propinqua were collected on the same site (Baratka, Körös Valley) and most probably at the same occasion (July 1942, Chappuis leg.). However, net differences in shape of Cx-I+II medial margin and number of rigid setae near I-/II-L-6 claw furrow, character states generally found stable in Wandesia populations, definitively contradict this synonymization. In these two characters, W. propinqua is similar to W. somnambula from which it differs in a lower number of genital setae. Both W. stygophila and W. somnambula are furthermore distinguished by greater dimensions: Cx-I+II L 150-170, Cx-III+IV 170-200, I-L total L> 550, genital field L 150-170, palp total L> 230.