Gymnalloptes Gaud, 1968

Hernandes, Fabio A. & Mironov, Sergey V., 2015, The feather mites of the hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin (Müller) (Aves: Opisthocomiformes), with the description of two new genera and six new species (Acari: Analgoidea, Pterolichoidea), Zootaxa 4034 (3), pp. 401-444 : 403-404

Genus Gymnalloptes Gaud, 1968

Type species: Analloptes pallens Trouessart and Mégnin, 1888 , by original designation.

The genus Gymnalloptes was established by Gaud (1968) for a single species, Analloptes pallens Trouessart et Neumann, 1888 , originally described from the Baillon’s crake Porzana pusilla (Pallas) [as P. bailloni (Vieillot) ] ( Gruiformes : Rallidae ) in Europe (Trouessart & Neumann 1888). Gaud (1968) reported this mite from several other rallids, Rallus aquaticus Linnaeus , Fulica atra Linnaeus , and Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus) , and also from Podica senegalensis (Vieillot) ( Gruiformes : Heliornithidae ). The latter host association seems questionable. It is necessary to add that Gaud (1968) erroneously indicated Porzana porzana (Linnaeus) as the type host instead of P. pusilla .

Berlese (1885) described Alloptes quadrisetosus Berlese, 1885 from Porzana (= Ortygometra) sp., the male of which undoubtedly corresponds to the xolalgid genus Gymnalloptes , while the female likely belongs to the family Alloptidae . Gaud and Atyeo (1981) wrote that Analloptes pallens and Al. quadrisetosus are certainly conspecific, but did not formally declare their synonymy. These authors had suspended this situation because they probably did not want to synonymize the type species A. pallens with Al. quadrisetosus , which is an elder name. Although we also think that these species are conspecific, we delay our solution until we are able to examine their type specimens or to engage in a comparative study of Gymnalloptes samples from all Porzana species occurring in Western Europe.

Within the subfamily Ingrassiinae , the genus Gymnalloptes is most clearly characterized by the following set of features ( Gaud 1968; Gaud & Atyeo 1981): in both sexes, four (la, ra, wa, s) and two (wa, s) ventral setae are present on tarsi I and II, respectively; tibiae III and IV are cylindrical (without large processes); in males, legs IV are longer and thicker than legs III, tarsus IV is elongated and subequal in length to tibia IV, the opisthosoma is narrowed posteriorly, the opisthosomal lobes are small, the interlobar membrane is absent, the genital apparatus is moved anteriorly and situated at the level of humeral shields; in females, the epigynum is short and bow-shaped, and the hysteronotal shield is absent.