Hygrobates (Hygrobates) laceratoides, Smit, 2005

Smit, Harry, 2005, Water mites of the family Hygrobatidae Koch from southern Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Journal of Natural History 39 (38), pp. 3369-3405 : 3380-3381

Hygrobates (Hygrobates) laceratoides sp. nov.

( Figures 11–14 )

Material examined

Holotype: male, Melkhout River , south of Pont Malgas, Western Cape Province, South Africa, alt. 89 m a.s.l., 34 ° 22.296 9 S, 20 ° 38.701 9 E, 9 November 2004 ( BMSA) . Paratype: one male, same data as holotype ( ZMAN) .

Description

Male. Idiosoma 543 (450) long and 454 (364) wide. Apodemes of anterior coxal plates short, fourth coxal plates without apodemes. Gonopore 74 long. Genital field 108 long and 110 wide. Acetabula small, posterior pair 20 long and 14 wide. In paratype male the posterior acetabulum is larger than the two anterior acetabula. Excretory pore nearterminal. Lengths of PI–PV: 20, 78, 48, 100, 38. PII with a short ventral extension with approximately five or six irregularly shaped teeth. PIII with three teeth ventrally and three (four) more teeth located on medial side of segment. PIV stocky, with a long ventral seta. Lengths of I-leg-4–6: 90, 100, 90 (length to tip of segment 104); I-leg-5 distally with two heavy, pointed seta, the longest 36 long. Lengths of IV-leg-4–6: 158, 160, 150. IV-leg-5 with three heavy, pointed setae, the longest 90 long. Legs without swimming setae.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology

Named for its resemblance to H. laceratus Lundblad.

Remarks

The species is very similar to H. laceratus , but differs in the shape and configuration of the acetabula. The acetabula are small in H. laceratoides sp. nov., and large (38 long and 24 wide) in H. laceratus . The acetabula are placed in a line behind each other in the new species, while they are arranged in a triangle in H. laceratus . The palps of the two species are similar. K. O. Viets (1963) described another similar species from South Africa, i.e. H. sudafricanus . This species differs from H. laceratoides sp. nov. in having PII almost without a ventral extension, I-leg-5 distally with two blunt setae and the acetabula are arranged in a triangle.

Figures

Figure 11. Hygrobates laceratoides sp. nov., holotype male, ventral view. Scale bar: 50 mm.

Figure 12. Hygrobates laceratoides sp. nov., holotype male, palp. Scale bar: 50 mm.

Figure 13. Hygrobates laceratoides sp. nov., holotype male, I-leg-4–6. Scale bar: 50 mm.

Figure 14. Hygrobates laceratoides sp. nov., holotype male, IV-leg-5–6. Scale bar: 50 mm.