Copidognathus piger, BARTSCH, 2003

BARTSCH, I., 2003, Mangrove halacarid fauna (Halacaridae, Acari) of the Dampier region, Western Australia, with description of five new species, Journal of Natural History 37 (15), pp. 1855-1877 : 1872-1874

Copidognathus piger n. sp.

(figures 9, 10)

Material examined

H male, WAM T44114, Australia, Western Australia, east coast of the Burrup Peninsula, Watering Cove , turf on Avicennia pneumatophores, 8 August 2000, coll. I. Bartsch.

P: two males, WAM T44115 and T44116 , one female, WAM T44117, collecting data same as in holotype. One female and male, SMF, collecting data same as in holotype. One female and male, ZMH, collecting data same as in holotype .

Etymology. From piger (Latin) slow, sluggish.

Description

Male. Idiosoma 345–356 m m long, holotype 356 m m long, 240 m m wide. Dorsal plates in mounted specimens overlapping (figure 9B). Surface of plates with porose areolae, rosette pores within these areolae with distinct canaliculi (figure 9A, D). Integument of plates outside porose areolae reticulate, each polygon with four to eight small pits (figure 9D). AD 140 m m long, 150 m m wide; with A-shaped internal sclerite which extends on to frontal spine. Integument between upper triangular portion of ‘A’ with large foveae, each fovea with canaliculi (figure 9A). Pair of triangular areolae medial to legs of ‘A’ fused in the median. Pair of gland pores inconspicuous, present immediately posterior to transverse sclerite of ‘A’. OC 119 m m long, its anterior portion 37 m m wide, posterior portion tail-like. Anteriorly with two corneae, gland pore and pore canaliculus. Small area lateral to corneae with delicate canaliculi, this porose areola not as conspicuous as areolae on AD and PD. PD 205 m m long, 175 m m wide. Anterior pair of gland pores level with insertion of leg IV. Pair of porose costae approximately four rosette pores wide; costae at level of insertion of leg III bending laterad and extending to margin of plate. Costae widened level with pair of anterior gland pores. In some specimens scattered rosette pores lateral to gland pores. Setae ds-1 long, posterior to pair of gland pores, ds-2 on OC lateral to anterior cornea; ds-3, ds-4 and ds-5 on PD, ds-3 anterior to porose costae, ds-4 and ds-5 lateral to costae .

Ventral plates distinctly porose; canaliculi arranged within polygons (figure 9E). AE, with camerostral membrane included, 125 m m long, 206 m m wide. Epimeral processes I and II and apodemes large (figure 9C) . AE with three pairs of setae and pair of epimeral pores. Opening of epimeral pores slit-like. AE and GA fused within adjacent corners (figure 9C). GA 177 m m long, 165 m m wide. Integument within areas lateral to GO with foveae and a more pronounced porosity than in remainder of plate. GO 50 m m long, 35 m m wide. Perigenital setae arranged in a ring around GO, their number 20–24, in holotype 21 setae. Genital sclerites with three pairs of sgs, anterior pair setiform. Spermatopositor 95 m m long (to basis of furca), 70 m m wide, extending beyond GO by length of GO. With one pair of internal genital acetabula (figure 9F).

Gnathosoma 111 m m long, 72 m m wide (figure 9G). Rostrum slightly shorter than gnathosomal base. One pair of maxillary setae on gnathosomal base, one pair on rostrum. Rostral sulcus extending beyond this pair of setae. Tectum forming a narrow crest (figure 9H). Palps four-segmented; P-2 with one dorsal seta. P-3 lack setae. P-4 with three setae in basal whorl.

Legs with conspicuous lamellae, namely basifemora I–IV each with ventral lamella; telofemora I–IV with large ventrolateral lamellae; tibiae I and II with rectangular distolateral and distinctly smaller distomedial lamellae. Ventrolateral lamella of telofemora very delicately pitted. Tarsi lack lamellae. Tarsi III and IV slender, longer than tibiae of these legs. Leg chaetotaxy from trochanter to tarsus: leg I, 1, 2, 5, 4, 7, 7; leg II, 1, 2, 5, 4, 7, 4; leg III, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 4; leg IV, 0, 2, 2, 3, 5, 4. Tibia I and II each with two bipectinate ventromedial setae and one smooth ventral seta (figure 10A, B); tibiae III and IV with one bipectinate ventromedial seta and one long and smooth ventral seta (figure 10C, D). Tarsi I–IV with 4, 4, 4, 4 dorsal setae (solenidia included) and 3, 0, 0, 0 ventral setae. Basalmost dorsal seta on tarsi III and IV close to basis of tarsus. Tip of tarsus I with pair of doubled, eupathid pas. Tip of tarsus II on either side with one eupathid seta, approximately 12 m m long, and one minute solid seta, 3 m m long. On tarsus III medial pas setiform, lateral pas short and spiniform. On tarsus IV pas on either side spiniform. Solenidion on each of tarsi I (figure 10E) and II setiform and in dorsolateral position; famulus on tarsus I bud-shaped, on dorsolateral lamella.

Claws long and slender; with minute accessory process and on tarsi II–IV with delicate J-shaped pecten. On tarsus I median claw bidentate; on the other tarsi ventral tooth of median claw slender, dorsal tooth almost reduced.

Female. Idiosoma 352–362 m m long. Dorsum similar to that of male, and, as in male, AE and GA laterally fused (figure 9J). Perigenital setae arranged as illustrated. Ovipositor long, extending beyond anteriormost pair of pgs. Genital sclerites with minute sgs. Pair of genital acetabula tube-like (figure 9I).

Remarks

Copidognathus piger is a member of the C. gibbus group. From south-western Australia 12 species of this natural species group are recorded, from north-eastern Australia six species (Bartsch, 1994; Otto, 2000). None of them has an ornamentation of the dorsal plates resembling that of C. piger .

Copidognathus vicinus Bartsch, 1997 , a species recorded from Hong Kong (Bartsch, 1997), resembles C. piger in that the AD has a frontal spine and a pair of triangular porose areolae, the PD a pair of anteriorly sharply bent costae, but, in contrast to C. piger , the porose areolae of the AD and the costae of the PD are more narrow.