Copidognathus quadriporosus, Chatterjee & Chang, 2006

Chatterjee, Tapas & Chang, Cheon Young, 2006, Descriptions of two new species of the genus Copidognathus and females of Copidognathus jejuensis (Acari: Halacaridae) from Korea, Journal of Natural History 40 (29 - 31), pp. 1761-1774 : 1762-1767

Copidognathus quadriporosus new species

( Figures 1 , 2 )

Material examined

Holotype: male (DB00034), Gugye (36 ° 199030N, 129 ° 229450E), Yeongdeok, South Korea, 18 April 2001 (C. Y. Chang and J. M. Lee) . Paratypes: one female (DB00035), one male (DB00036), Masan-ri , South Korea, 4 November 2004 (C. Y. Chang and T. Chatterjee) .

Additional materials. One male, Jocheon, Jeju Is., 25 January 2003 (C. Y. Chang and J. M. Lee); one male, Gugye , Yeongdeok, Korea, 18 April 2001 (C. Y. Chang and J. M. Lee) ; three females and three males, Masan-ri , Korea, 4 November 2004 (C. Y. Chang and T. Chatterjee) .

Holotype male All dorsal plates separate. Idiosoma ( Figure 1A ) 337 mm long, 208 mm wide. Areolae and costae on dorsal plates with rosette pores, remainder of AD, OC, and PD plates foveate ( Figure 1C ). AD 108 mm long and 77 mm wide, anteriorly with small protuberance ( Figure 1A ); anterior areola with about 10 rosette pores, paired posterior areolae with 10– 13 rosette pores each. Paired ds 1 anterior to posterior areolae on AD; pair of gland pores near anterolateral margin on AD.

OC 89 mm long, 54 mm wide; length to width ratio about 1.6; each with two corneae; areolae with rosette pores medial to corneae and posterolateral to posterior cornea; gland pore lateral to posterior cornea adjacent to lateral margin of OC; pore canaliculus present nearly on lateral margin of OC; ds 2 located at anteromedial corner of OC. Brownish pigment found on upper cuticular layer near corneal zone. An elevated bar present laterally from middle to posterior side of OC.

PD 192 mm long, 135 mm wide; paired costae two to three rosette pores wide; anterior end of costa surpassing ds 3 but not reaching anterior end of PD; ds 3 –ds 5 on PD; distance from ds 3 to ds 4 53 mm and ds 4 to ds 5 55 mm; gland pore lateral to costae between ds 4 and ds 5 ( Figure 1A ).

All ventral plates separate ( Figure 1B ). AE 98 mm long, 184 mm wide. AE with three pairs of setae and a pair of epimeral pores. Epimeral processes I–II well developed, coxal origin. Paired ventrolateral areolae containing rosette pores between insertions of legs I and II. AE with four porose areas of canaliculi in groups, located below anterior seta on AE, and between lateral and posterior setae on AE. Each PE with three ventral setae and one dorsal seta.

GA 168 mm long, 117 mm wide ( Figure 1B ). GO 44 mm long, 24 mm wide. Distance between anterior end of GO to that of GA 84 mm, about 1.9 times GO length; distance between posterior margin of GO to that of GA 36 mm. Spermatopositor large, reaching 58 mm anteriorly from anterior margin of GO and 29 mm apart from anterior margin of GA. Paragenital areolae well developed; 29 PGS, anterior PGS 24 mm apart from anterior margin of GO. Four pairs of SGS present.

Gnathosoma ( Figure 1D ) 121 mm long, 70 mm wide. Palp consisting of four segments. Rostrum elongate, extending up to proximal setae of P 4. P 1 and P 3 devoid of any seta, P 2 with one dorsal seta distally, P 4 with three long proximal setae, one minute distal seta. Proto- and deutorostral setae situated at tip of rostrum; tritorostral setae (long maxillary setae of rostrum) located just above middle of rostrum; gnathosomal base with a pair of setae (basirostral seta); distance between tritorostral seta and tip of rostrum 34 mm; distance between tritorostral seta and basirostral seta 49 mm. Gnathosomal base dorsally panelled, ventrolaterally porose. Rostral sulcus long, extending a little behind tritorostral setae. Tectum triangular.

Chaetotaxy of legs ( Figure 2A–D ): trochanter 1-1-1-0; basifemur 2-2-2-2; telofemur 5-5- 2-3; patella 4-4-3-3; tibia 7-7-5-5; tarsus (PAS excluded) 7-4-4-3. Trochanters III and IV with distomedial spiniform process. Length to width ratio of telofemora I–IV: 1.7, 1.7, 1.6, 1.9, respectively. Telofemora sculptured with fovea. Telofemur III with two dorsal setae, devoid of any ventral seta. Telofemur IV with two dorsal, one ventral seta. Telofemora, patella and tibiae with distoventral and distal pararthrodial (articular) lamellae. Tibiae I and II proximoventrally with rudimentary lamellae, devoid of denticulation and spiniform extension. Length to width ratio of tibiae I–IV 2.4, 2.4, 3.2, 3.1, respectively. Arrangement of pectinate setae on tibiae I–IV: 2-2-1-0. Tarsus I with three dorsal setae, one solenidion (20 mm long), three ventral setae, two doublets eupathid PAS. Tarsus II with three dorsal setae, one solenidion (21 mm long), two eupathid PAS. Tarsus III with four dorsal setae, distance between two basal setae subequal with height of tarsus. Tarsus IV with three dorsal setae. All legs with two lateral claws and a bidentate median claw. Lateral claws with accessory process dorsally, finely pectinate ventrally.

Female Idiosoma 342 mm long. Costae two rosette pores wide, anterior end of costa not reaching

ds 3. GA 169 mm long, 125 mm wide ( Figure 1E ). GO 70 mm long; paragenital areolae well developed; ovipositor surpassing anteriorly 40 mm of GO, extending beyond anterior PGS. Distance between anterior end of GO to that of GA 85 mm, about 1.2 times GO length. Three pairs of PGS present; anterior pair 27 mm away from anterior end of GO and 55 mm away from anterior margin of GA; middle pair near the level of anterior margin of GO; third pair near posterior side of GO. Pair of SGS located at anterior sixth of GO.

Variability

Morphological variation was examined between the holotype and other specimens. In the holotype and in a female, costae on PD are two to three rosette pores wide and the anterior end of costa extends beyond ds 3, while in other specimens, costae are one to two rosette pores wide, and anterior ends do not reach up to ds 3. Anterior areola on AD contains about 10 rosette pores in the holotype, while from five to 10 rosette pores in other specimens according to individuals. Number of PGS in male ranges from 25 to 29. Rudimentary lamellae on ventral side of tibiae I and II are not found in most of the specimens examined. In a few specimens, tectum is obtuse-angled triangular with a very small, spinose tip. In many specimens, ostia are not prominent in porose areolae on ventrolateral side of gnathosomal base.

Remarks

Copidognathus quadriporosus n. sp. is allied with C. tabellio ( Trouessart, 1894) from the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea ( Trouessart 1894, 1901; Viets 1940; André 1946; Bartsch 2001) and C. brevipes Viets, 1940 from the Mediterranean and Black Sea ( Viets 1940; Bartsch 1975, 2001; Morselli and Mari 1985) in having the combination of the following characteristics: three areolae on AD; ds 1 ahead of posterior areolae on AD; pair of gland pores located anterolaterally on AD; ds 2 located at anteromedial corner of OC; ds 3–5 present on PD; PD with two costae containing rosette pores; gland pores situating between ds 4 and ds 5 lateral to costa on PD; epimeral processes I–II well developed, and coxal origin; one pair of basirostral setae present; trochanters III and IV with distomedial process; telofemora III–IV with 0-1 ventral seta; pectinate setae on tibiae I–IV 2-2-1-0; tarsi III–IV with 4-3 dorsal setae. However, C. quadriporosus is distinguished from C. brevipes and C. tabellio by four porose areas on AE. Moreover, C. tabellio has brownish pigmentation anteriorly on AD and posteriorly on OC. Copidognathus brevipes is characterized by its short telofemora.

Copidognathus lamelloides Bartsch, 2000 from Europe ( Bartsch 2000, 2001) looks somewhat similar to the present new species, but differs in many ways. Gland pores on AD are apart from each other in C. lamelloides . Setae ds 2 are located on membranous cuticle between OC and AD in C. lamelloides , while at anteromedial corner of OC in C. quadriporosus . One of the ventral setae on tibia IV is pectinate in C. lamelloides , while all ventral setae on the segment are smooth in C. quadriporosus .

Copidognathus bavayi ( Trouessart, 1896) known from Vietnam, Malaysia ( Trouessart 1896, André 1937, Bartsch 1993) looks similar in general appearance to the present new species, but is distinguished from C. quadriporosus on the following points: C. bavayi has four dorsal setae on tarsus IV, while C. quadriporosus has three dorsal setae in that segment; brownish pigmentation is found on posterior portion of OC and anterior part of PD in C. bavayi , while such pigmentation is absent in the present species.

Both C. quadratus Makarova, 1972 and C. globulosus Makarova, 1975 recorded from the Kuril Islands ( Makarova 1972, 1975), adjacent to the type locality of the present species, are not allied with C. quadriporosus . Copidognathus quadratus differs from C. quadriporosus by the location of ds 3 (present on membranous cuticle in C. quadratus , while on PD in C. quadriporosus ), the number of costae on PD (four costae in C. quadratus , while two costae in C. quadriporosus ). Moreover, C. quadratus has anterior pair of PGS in female near the anterior margin of GA, while away from the anterior margin of GA in C. quadriporosus . Copidognathus globulosus is distinguished from C. quadriporosus by the number of costae on PD (four costae in C. globulosus , while two costae in C. quadriporosus ), the length of rostrum (rostrum elongate, extending near the proximal setae of P 4 in C. quadriporosus , while near the anterior end of P 2 in C. globulosus ). Moreover, areolae on GA present lateral to GO in C. quadriporosus , while areolae on GA located lateral to GO and also on anterolateral side of GA in C. globulosus (cf. Makarova 1975, Figure 3J ).

Etymology

The proposed specific name is taken from the characteristic of ‘‘four porose areas on AE’’.

Figures

Figure 1. Copidognathus quadriporosus n. sp. (A–D) Male; (E) female. (A) Idiosoma, dorsal; (B) idiosoma ventral; (C) foveae between two costae on PD; (D) gnathosoma; (E) GA of female. Scale bars: 50 mm (A, B, E); 20 mm (C, D).

Figure 2. Copidognathus quadriporosus n. sp., male. (A–D) Legs I–IV. Scale bar: 20 mm.

Figure 3. Copidognathus tetrarhachis n. sp. (A, B, D) Female; (C) male. (A) Idiosoma, dorsal; (B) idiosoma ventral; (C) idiosoma ventral; (D) gnathosoma. Scale bars: 50 mm.