Teratothyasides scutulatus Smit & Pesic

Smit, Harry, Pesic, Vladimir & Mary-Sasal, Nathalie, 2009, New species of water mites from the Comoros (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Zootaxa 2213, pp. 47-56 : 48

Teratothyasides scutulatus Smit & Pesic n. sp.

( Figs. 1–9 )

Material examined. Holotype male, Mro oua Chirini (Soulou River), Mayotte, Comoros , 12°46'40,26" S 45°6'15,16" E, 16 May 2006, leg. N. Mary ( MNHN).

Diagnosis. Pore-bearing plates of dorsum rhomboid, cheliceral claw long and straight, genital field with eight pairs of acetabula.

Description. Male: Idiosoma 1025 long, 689 wide, anteriorly truncated; integument papillate. Porebearing plates of dorsum rhomboid, especially in posterior part of dorsum, but in some anterior parts these plates obliterated. Pore-bearing plates surrounding dorsoglandularia and lateroglandularia. Ventral porebearing plates more irregularly shaped, and partly obliterated. Anterior tips of first and second coxal plates with 4–5 short setae. Near anterior margin of third coxal plates 1–2 setae. Genital field 168 long, 190 wide, with nine pairs of acetabula, anterior pair larger and separated from eight posterior pairs. Genital flaps with a row of small setae near medial margin, more posteriorly 2–3 pairs of longer setae. Excretory pore halfway between genital field and posterior idiosoma margin. Lengths PI-PV: 50, 64, 58, 132, 42. Palp segments slender, PII ventrally with two pinnate setae (one seta broken off in one of the palps), dorsal margin of PI and PIII with one seta, dorsal margin of PII with three setae. Ventral margin of PIV distally with one hair-like setae ( Figs. 5–6 ). Cheliceral claw slender, 218 long. Lengths of I-Leg-4–6: 124, 142, 120; I-Leg-6 distally with three spatulate setae. Lengths of IV-Leg-4–6: 226, 224, 172. All leg claws with a prominent comb.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for the rhomboid pore-bearing plates of the dorsum.

Remarks. K.O. Viets (in K.O Viets & Böttger 1974) erected the subgenus Rhynchohansvietsia , based on the shape of the capitulum. Due to fixation in ethanol, it was not possible to detach the capitulum of T. scutulatus and therefore its shape could not be ascertained. Subgeneric assignment was therefore impossible. The extremely long cheliceral claw is only found in T. congoensis K.O. Viets, 1974 and T. sagariphoris Cook, 1966 . The new species differs from T. congoensis in the slender palp, from T. sagariphoris Cook in the lower number of acetabula and differently shaped dorsal pore-bearing plates.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Teratothyasides scutulatus n. sp., holotype male: 1 = dorsal view; 2 = detail dorsum; 3 = ventral view; 4 = genital field; 5 – 6 = palp. Scale bars = 200 µm (Figs. 1, 3), 50 µm (Figs. 2, 4, 5, 6).

FIGURES 7 – 9. Teratothyasides scutulatus n. sp., holotype male: 7 = I-Leg- 4 - 6; 8 = IV-Leg- 5 - 6; 9 = cheliceral claw. Scale bar = 50 µm.