Taintaturus hopkinsi Cook, 1983

Pesic, Vladimir, Smit, Harry & Datry, Thibault, 2010, Water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the hyporheic waters of the Selwyn River (New Zealand), with descriptions of nine new species, Zootaxa 2355, pp. 1-34 : 15

Taintaturus hopkinsi Cook, 1983

Material examined. New Zealand, South Island: Selwyn River near Raywell Farm, 08.vii.2007, 1/2/0 (mounted); ibid., 22.ix.2004, 3/3/0; Selwyn river near Scotts, 08.vii.2007, 0/1/0 (damaged); ibid., 22.xii.2003, 1/1/0; ibid., 25.xi.2004, 1/0/0; Selwyn River near Chamberlain's Ford, 16.iii.2005, 2/1/0; ibid., 23.v.2005, 7/1/ 0 (1/0/0 mounted); 25.vii.2005, 1/3/0 (1/1/0 mounted); Selwyn river near Coes Ford, 08.iv.2004, 0/2/0; ibid., 23.v.2005, 2/2/1; ibid., 20.viii.2004, 1/2/0; ibid., 20.ix.2004, 2/1/0; ibid., 20.x.2004, 0/1/0; ibid., 24.xi.2004, 4/ 8/0; 26.xi.2003, 2/2/0; ibid., 24.xi.2004, 2/5/0; ibid., 17.i.2005, 0/2/0; ibid., 16.iii.2005, 2/3/0; Selwyn river near Old Bridge, 08.vii.2004, 0/1/0; ibid., 10.ix.2004, 1/1/0; ibid., 20.ix.2004, 1/0/0; ibid., 20.x.2004, 8/4/0; ibid., 24.xi.2004, 0/1/0 (mounted); ibid., 24.xi.2007, 0/1/0; Selwyn river near Coalgate, 04.vi.2004, 1/0/0 (mounted); Selwyn river near Witthel, 20.ix.2004, 0/1/0.

Remarks. One female of the present species contains a single egg with a diameter of approximately 170 µm. As Cook (1991) already observed for another species of this genus, Taintaturus stoutae (known from deep water, driven wells), it is a mystery how such an egg can pass through a gonopore (with an opening of approximately 50 µm in our specimen). A reproductive trade-off between the size of the eggs and number of eggs would be expected in cases such as the loss of parasitic phase ( Davids 1997), in which larvae forego parasitic feeding.

Distribution. New Zealand; previously reported from North and South Islands ( Cook 1983).