Acrotritia paraardua, Niedbała & Starý, 2014

Niedbała, Wojciech & Starý, Josef, 2014, New species of the superfamily Euphthiracaroidea (Acari: Oribatida) from Madagascar and Tanzania, Journal of Natural History 49 (27), pp. 1689-1702 : 1692-1694

Acrotritia paraardua sp. nov.

( Figure 2 )

Material examined

Holotype deposited at DATE from the locus typicus: MAG-111, Madagascar, Reservation Expérimentale de Vohimana , 27 November 2011, 18°55 ′ 13.7 ″ S, 48°30 ′ 50.8 ″ E, 776 m asl, sifting of forest litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L. S. Rahanitriniaina, and P. Baňař, one paratype deposited at DATE from the locality: MAG-111, Madagascar, Reservation Expérimentale de Vohimana , 27 November 2011, 18°55 ′ 13.7 ″ S, 48°30 ′ 50.8 ″ E, 776m asl, sifting of forest litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina, and P. Baňař, one paratype deposited at DATE from the locality: MAG-089, Madagascar, Ambohitantely Special Reserve , 17 November 2011, 18°11 ′ 42.9 ″ S, 47°17 ′ 20.3 ″ E, 1640 m asl, sifting of forest litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina, one paratype deposited at ISB from the locality: MAG-114, Madagascar, Andasibe National Park, 2–5 May 2011, sifting of leaf litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina, one paratype deposited at NHMG from the locality: MAG-132, Madagascar, Ambohitantely Special Reserve, 3 September 2011, 18°10 ′ 58.3 ″ S, 47° 17 ′ 22.2 ″ E, 1518 m asl, under palm tree near waterfall, sifting of leaf litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina.

Measurements of holotype

Prodorsum: length 260, width 190, height 114, sensillus 76, length of prodorsal setae: interlamellar (in) 119, lamellar (le) 71, rostral (ro) 66, exobothridial (ex) 13; notogaster: length 494, width 338, height 369, length of notogastral setae: c 1, h 1 and p 1 81; genitoaggenital plate 172 × 81, anoadanal plate 227 × 76.

Description

Colour light brown. Integument finely punctate.

Prodorsum with single, distinct, long lateral carinae. Sensilli with narrow pedicel and clavate head covered with small spines. Prodorsal setae: interlamellar (in) and lamellar (le) setae similar to notogastral setae, stout, covered with small spines in distal half; rostral (ro) setae fairly short, rough; exobothridial (ex) setae minute.

Notogaster with moderately long notogastral setae stout, covered with small spines in distal half. Setae c 1 shorter than distance between setae c 1 and d 1, setae c remote from anterior margin of notogaster, setae c 2 more removed than setae c 1 and c 3. Openings of lateral-opisthosomal gland (gla), lyrifissures and vestigial setae present and positioned typically.

Ventral region. Infracapitulum as for superfamily Euphthiracaroidea . Setae h of mentum longer than their mutual distance. Genitogenital plates with nine pairs of genital setae; all genital setae situated posteriorly of progenital area; two aggenital setae situated slightly obliquely. Anal plates with two pairs of setae. Anodanal plates with three pairs of stout adanal setae; anal setae an 1 and an 2 shorter, smooth, anal setae an 3 minute. Lyrifissures iad situated anteriorly from adanal setae ad 3.

Leg chaetome (tarsi not examined): I: 1-3-5(2)-5(1), II: 1-4-3(1)-4(1), III: 2-2-2(1)- 3(1), IV: 2-1-2(0)-3(1). Tarsi of leg I bidactylous, tarsi II–IV tridactylous, all tarsi heterotridactylous.

Etymology

The prefix ‘ para ’ is Latin meaning ‘near’ and refers to the similarity the new species with Acrotritia ardua (C. L. Koch 1841) .

Comparison

The new species is similar to A. ardua (C. L. Koch 1841) by the presence of simple, distinct lateral carinae of prodorsum and bidactylous tarsi I and tridactylous tarsi II–IV, but differs by the presence of a clavate head of sensillum (versus fusiform head), the presence of all genital setae outside the progenital area (versus setae g 1 in the progenital position) and by different chaetotaxy of the legs. Another two Acrotritia species have simple lateral carinae of the prodorsum, clavate sensilli and bidactylous tarsi I and tridactylous tarsi II–IV. However, Acrotritia dinota ( Niedbała et Schatz, 1996) from Belize and the Galapagos islands has genital setae g 1 situated in a progenital position and Acrotritia munita Niedbała, 2006 from South Africa also has genital setae g 1 situated in a progenital position ( Koch 1841; Niedbała and Schatz 1996; Niedbała 2006).

Figures

Figure 2. Acrotritia paraardua sp. nov., holotype: (A) prodorsum, lateral view; (B) prodorsum, dorsal view; (C) opisthosoma, lateral view; (D) mentum of subcapitulum; (E) genitoaggenital plate, right side.