Mirabulbus Liu & Ma, 2001

MAŠÁN, PETER & HALLIDAY, BRUCE, 2014, Review of the mite family Pachylaelapidae (Acari: Mesostigmata), Zootaxa 3776 (1), pp. 1-66 : 40

Genus Mirabulbus Liu & Ma, 2001

Mirabulbus Liu & Ma, 2001: 356 .

Type species Mirabulbus qinbaensis Liu & Ma, 2001 , by original designation.

Liu & Ma (2001) erected Mirabulbus to accommodate two species from China, the type species Mirabulbus qinbaensis Liu & Ma, 2001 , and Mirabulbus yadongensis ( Ma & Wang, 1997) . Unfortunately, their generic diagnosis contains only some very vague and general features which do not allow precise characterisation and classification of the new genus. In addition, they incorrectly placed Mirabulbus in the family Bulbogamasidae Gu, Wang & Duan, 1991 , which may be a synonym of Neoparasitidae Oudemans, 1939 (see remarks for the genus Neoparasitus ). Three more free-living species have been described on the basis of specimens collected from soil substrates, and which appear similar to Mirabulbus , viz. Neoparasitus scleoides Ishikawa, 1969 and Neoparasitus punctatus Ishikawa, 1987 from Japan, and Pachyseius malimingi Bei, Chen & Wu, 2010 from China.

Based on the illustrations accompanying the two original species of Mirabulbu s, together with more precise descriptions of the other species from China and Japan, Mirabulbus appears to be closely related to Pachyseius . These two genera share the following character states: (1) dorsal shield with 30 pairs of setae; (2) sternal shield with three pairs of setae; (3) a pair of metasternal platelets present, each with a seta and associated lyrifissure; (4) separate epigynal shield with a pair of setae and minute suboval post-epigynal sclerites close to its posterior margin; (5) ventri-anal shield bearing at least two pairs of ventral setae; (6) epistome with anterior margin not produced into a narrowly necked projection; (7) palp apotele three-tined; (8) chelicera with one setal brush at the base of the movable digit; (9) male with spermatodactyl long and projecting posterodorsally; (10) male with separate sternitigenital and ventri-anal shields, and with free posterior ends of peritrematal shields. For the main distinguishing characters between Mirabulbus and Pachyseius refer to the key to genera.