Chelonuropoda canalitica, Kontschán & Starý, 2012

Kontschán, Jenő & Starý, Josef, 2012, Notes on the genus Chelonuropoda Sellnick, 1954 with description of three new species (Acari: Uropodina: Oplitidae), Journal of Natural History 46 (11 - 12), pp. 741-756 : 747-749

Chelonuropoda canalitica sp. nov.

( Figures 3–4 )

Material examined

Holotype. Female. Ivory Coast, Nzi Noua , north of Ndouci, degraded forest, from decayed tree, 13 January 1977, leg. W.L. and D.E. Brown.

Paratypes. Two males. Locality and date same as holotype. Holotype is deposited in HNHM, one of the paratypes in ISB, the other one in NHMG .

Description

Female. Length of idiosoma 1970 µm, width 1560 µm (n = 1). Shape of idiosoma rounded.

Dorsal side ( Fig. 3A ). Dorsal and marginal shields fused close to anterior margin. Anterior marginal shield wide, bearing short, smooth, needle-like setae (c.50–60 µm). All dorsal setae smooth and needle-like (c.70–80 µm), often placed in small, rounded depressions. Two strongly sclerotized, C-shaped rings present on posterolateral area of dorsal shield.

Ventral side ( Figure 3B ). Sternal and ventral shields without ornamentation, all sternal setae smooth and needle-like (c.30–35 µm). Ventral setae smooth, needle-like (55–60 µm) and placed in small rounded depressions. Metapodal regions with one pair of deep, transversal furrows bordered with two rows of phylliform setae (c.120–125 µm), these two funnels are connected by a channel with strongly sclerotized margins (posteriorly to basal line of genital shield). Areas between coxae III and IV covered by small, irregular pits ( Figure 3C ). Adanal and postanal setae similar in shape and length to ventral setae. Stigmata situated between coxae II and III. Peritremes hairpin shaped. Genital shield wide, linguliform, with small oval pits on its surface and without anterior process. Tritosternum with wide, quadrangular basis, laciniae with three branches, central one smooth and longer than the others, which are marginally serrate ( Figure 3D ).

Legs. All segments with simple and smooth setae and a pair of claws at tip of the ambulacral prolongation.

Gnathosoma ( Figure 4A ). Corniculi horn-like, laciniae with several smooth, long branches. Hypostomal setae h1 (c.76–80 µm) and h3 (c.210–215 µm) smooth, h2 (c.80–85 µm)and h4 (c.60–65 µm) apically serrate. Palp trochanter with one short smooth seta and one long marginally serrate seta. Epistome triangular and apically pilose. Chelicerae with one tooth on movable digit and four teeth on fixed digit, internal sclerotized node absent ( Figure 4B ).

Male. Length of idiosoma 1700–1720 µm, width 1300–1330 µm (n = 2). Shape oval, posterior margin rounded.

Dorsal side. Ornamentation and chaetotaxy as for female.

Ventral side. Ornamentation and chaetotaxy of ventral shield as for female. Sternal shield without sculptural pattern, the positions of sternal setae as in Figure 4C . All sternal setae smooth, needle-like and subequal in length (c.18–20 µm), except one pair of microsetae (c.7–8 µm) situated at level of posterior margin of genital shield. Genital shield rounded and placed between coxae III. Peritremes hairpin-shaped, medial bend widely curved ( Figure 4D ). Gnathosoma and other appendages same as in female.

Nymphs and larva are unknown.

Etymology

The name of the new species refers to the channel (= canal in Latin), which connects the two ventral funnels.

Remark

Shape of peritremes shows sexual dimorphism; this is the first observation of this phenomenon in the peritremes of this genus.

Figures

Figure 3. Chelonuropoda canalitica sp. nov., female. (A) Dorsal idiosoma; (B) ventral idiosoma; (C) ornamentation between coxae III and IV; (D) tritosternum.

Figure 4. Chelonuropoda canalitica sp. nov., (A, B) female, (C, D) male. (A) Ventral view of gnathosoma; (B) chelicera; (C) intercoxal region; (D) peritreme.