Frontipodopsis suturalis, Smit, Harry & Pešić, Vladimir, 2014

Smit, Harry & Pešić, Vladimir, 2014, Water mites from Mount Kinabalu and the Crocker Range, Borneo, Malaysia (Acari: Hydrachnidia), with the description of 34 new species, Zootaxa 3876 (1), pp. 1-71 : 36-38

Frontipodopsis suturalis n. sp.

( Figs. 21A–E )

Type series. Holotype female, Mahua stream, Mahua, Crocker Range, Borneo, Malaysia, 5º 47.838 N 116º 24.510 E, alt. 1052 m asl, 21-ix-2012 ( RMNH).

Diagnosis. Venter with a median suture line extending to centre of idiosoma.

Description. Female: Idiosoma of pale undefined colour, 470 long, 300 high and 186 wide. Dorsum with a relatively short, pointed anterior sclerite bearing the postocularia and a long, rod- shaped posterior sclerite; dorsal furrow with two glandularia platelets and two pairs of slit organs (fused with glandularia platelets or separated). Median suture line of Cx-IV anteriorly extending until centre of idiosoma. Genital field fused to coxae with three pairs of acetabula and five paired setae. Excretory pore free in dorsal furrow, not on a platelet. Length/height of P1- P5: 18/18, 50/28, 26/22, 48/20, 28/12. Length of I-leg-4–6: 40, 42, 40. Length of IV-leg-4–6: 80, 78, 50. II-leg-5 and III-leg-5 with two swimming setae.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for the presence of a median suture line.

Remarks. The new species is close to F. reticulatifrons Szalay, 1945 . Given the very wide distribution area of this species, ranging from Europe to Japan and from India to Borneo, the variation in the morphology is small. The three subspecies described from Iran (F. r. persicus Schwoerbel & Sepasgosarian, 1980), India (F. r. indicus Cook, 1967) and Japan (F. r. okinawaensis Imamura, 1957), should differ in length/height ratio of the idiosoma, shape of antenniform bristles and IV-leg. A diagnostic character of the new species not considered by previous authors is the median suture line between Cx-IV, which is absent in the nominate subspecies, F. r. okinawaensis and F. r. indicus (we examined a number of paratypes from Bhina River at Khed, India), but unknown for F. r. persicus Schwoerbel & Sepasgosarian, 1980.

Distribution. Borneo; known only from the locus typicus.

Figures

FIGURES 21 A – E. Frontipodopsis suturalis n. sp., holotype female. A = ventral view; B = dorsal furrow; C = lateral view; D = palp; E = IV-leg- 3 - 6. Scale bars = 50 Μm.