Primagistemus loadmani (Wood) Fan & Zhang, 2002

Fan, Qing-Hai & Zhang, Zhi-Qiang, 2002, Primagistemus gen. nov. (Acari: Prostigmata: Stigmaeidae), Zootaxa 29, pp. 1-8 : 4-6

Primagistemus loadmani (Wood) comb. nov. ( Figs. 1­12 )

Stigmaeus loadmani Wood, 1967: 102 ; 1981: 370.

Material examined. Female and 1 paratype female, ex. ferns, Ruby Bay, NN, New Zealand, 17.vi.1965, E. Collyer. 1 female, ex Dracophyllum sp., Canaan, NN, New Zealand, 25.ix.1966. In the New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research, Mt Albert Research Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.

Diagnosis. Adult females of Primagistemus loadmani (Wood) are characterized by having all dorsal body setae tapered and pointed. See key to species for more features.

Habitat and distribution. Alectryon excelsum , Elaeocarpus hookerianus , ferns, foliage of Dracophyllum sp., Dacrydium cupressinum , Lepidothamnus intermedium , Leptospermum scoparium and Ripogonum scandens , leaf litter of Agathis australis , Weinmannia racemosa , moss on Nothofagus forest floor. NEW ZEALAND ( Wood 1967, 1981).

Remarks. Wood provided a good description and illustration for the adult female in 1967, and a description of the larva in 1981. Here we provide new illustrations based on the paratypes, including an illustration of the deutonymph ( Fig. 8 ). We also observed some variation in the aggenital shields of the adult females.

Figures

FIGURES 1­2. Primagistemus loadmani (Wood) comb. nov. (adult female). 1, dorsal view of subcapitulum and idiosoma; 2, ventral view subcapitulum and idiosoma.

FIGURES. 3­8. Primagistemus loadmani (Wood) comb. nov. (3­7, adult female; 8, deutonymph). 3, chelicerae; 4, left palp; 5, ventral view of subcapitulum; 6, genito­anal area; 7, ventral setae; 8; genito­anal area.

FIGURES 9­12. Primagistemus loadmani (Wood) comb. nov. (adult female). 9, leg I; 10, leg II; 11, leg III; 12, leg IV.