Austrostigmaeus, Fan, Qing-Hai & Beard, Jennifer J., 2006

Fan, Qing-Hai & Beard, Jennifer J., 2006, Austrostigmaeus gen. n. (Acari: Prostigmata: Stigmaeidae), with the description of a new species from Australia, Zootaxa 1211, pp. 35-51 : 36-38

Genus Austrostigmaeus gen. n.

Type species: Austrostigmaeus walteri Fan & Beard , sp. n., by present designation.

Diagnosis

ADULT FEMALE. Idiosoma oval in dorsoventral view, yellow to dark orange in life; chelicerae separate. Palptibial claw slightly shorter than palptarsus; accessory claw setiform; terminal eupathidia on palptarsus basally fused and split into 3 obvious prongs; counts of setae and solenidia from palptrochanter to palptarsus: 0, 3, 1, 3 + 1 claw, 4 + 1

1 subterminal spiniform eupathidium + 3 eupathidia (basally fused). Subcapitulum with 2 pairs of setae posterolaterad of pharynx. Prodorsum mainly striated; prodorsal shield reduced, bearing 2 pairs of setae (vi and ve); sci present on platelets; sce absent; eyes present, pob not observed. Dorsal hysterosomal area C–F striated, without a central shield; c1, c2, d1, d2, e1, e2 and f1 each situated on a small platelet. Suranal shield (H) entire, with 2 pairs of setae (h1 and h2), h3 absent. Coxisternal shields I–II and III–IV absent. Ventral opisthosoma with 3 pairs of aggenital setae; genito­anal valves with 1 pair of genital setae and 3 pairs of pseudanal setae. Leg tarsal claws absent; membranous arolium developed; empodial shafts arising from arolium and bearing 3 Y­shaped tenent hairs; counts of setae and solenidia on legs I–IV: coxae 2 + 1 elc I, 1, 2, 2; trochanters 1, 1, 1, 1; femora 5, 4, 2, 2; genua 3 + 1, 1, 0, 0; tibiae 5 + 1 p, 5 + 1 p, 5 + 1 p, 5 + 1 p; tarsi 13 + 1, 9 + 1, 7

, 7.

ADULT MALE. As in adult female except: palptarsus basally angled; subcapitulum broadly expanded; without genital setae; with an aedeagus; tarsi I–II each with 2 solenidia.

DEUTONYMPH FEMALE. Idiosoma and legs as in adult female except: without genital folds and setae, and trochanter IV nude, respectively.

Etymology

The genus name, Austrostigmaeus , is a combination of the prefix Austro referring to Australia and the known genus name Stigmaeus .

Remarks

Mites of Austrostigmaeus are similar to those of Pilonychiopus Meyer, 1969 and Neilstigmaeus Gerson & Meyer, 1995 in that the leg tarsal claws are absent and the arolia are well developed. Males of Austrostigmaeus resemble females of Summersiella Gonzalez­R., 1967 in that the palptarsus is basally angled and the subcapitulum is widely expanded. Austrostigmaeus is also similar to the recently erected genus Gymnostigmaeus Ehara & Ueckermann, 2006 in lacking of sce and central hysterosomal shield, and having same setal formula of trochanters, femora and genua. Characters for separating these genera are listed in Table 1.