Eutarsopolipus umbonatus, Seeman, 2021

Seeman, Owen D., 2021, Contrasting species diversification of Eutarsopolipus (Acariformes: Podapolipidae) on Castelnaudia and Notonomus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), Zootaxa 4971 (1), pp. 1-74 : 21-24

Eutarsopolipus umbonatus sp. nov.

( Fig. 11 )

Diagnosis. Adult female: setae sc1, c1, c2, d, f with strongly thickened bases, often blunt-tipped; anterior margin of prodorsal shield not or only slightly eroded, straight or weakly concave; setae v1 7–10. Larviform male: sc1 5–6. Larval female: Setae c1 8–11, d 7–10, f 7–10.

Material examined. Holotype female ex. Castelnaudia cordata, Mt Mee SF , 6 km NNW barracks, 27° 2ʹ 53ʺ S 152° 40ʹ 49ʺ E, 8 Jan-3 Mar 1992, D. Cook, flight intercept trap, IN5148, HR# T 68607 ( QMS113481 ) . Paratypes. 16 females, 7 males, 15 larvae, as follows: all ex. C. cordata . 15 females, 6 males, 13 larvae, same data as holotype ( QMS 113482–92 , ANIC 52-003953 – 57 , ZMH-A0015185–89 ) ; 1 female, 1 larva, McIntosh Rd, Unumbar SF, 28° 25ʹ 19ʺ S 152° 42ʹ 14ʺ E, 25 Nov 1972, G. Monteith, IN6467, HR# T 64329 ( QMS 113493–94 ) ; 1 male, 1 larva, “ Glen Witheren ”, shelf scrub, 28° 2ʹ 58ʺ S 153° 6ʹ 58ʺ E, 30 Dec 1991 - 24 May 1992, G. Monteith, pitfall trap, IN5682, rainforest, HR#68606 ( QMS 113495 ) ; 1 larva, Lower Coomera , 28° 12ʹ 20ʺ S 153° 10ʹ 46ʺ E, 9 Jan-6 Apr 1995, G. Monteith, pitfall trap, IN5998, HR# T 68610 . All in QM except 3 females, 1 male, 1 larva in each of ANIC and ZMH .

Other material examined. 5 females, 2 larvae, on same slide as specimens of E. hebronae , same data as holotype. Not included as paratypes .

Description. FEMALE ( Fig. 11 ; n = 17).

Gnathosoma . Length 62 (56–61), width 57 (55–58). Cheliceral stylets 68 (68–70), setae ch 22 (25–30), su 10 (10–18).

Idiosoma ( Fig. 11 ). Length 330 (320–400), width 290 (250–325). Prodorsal plate slightly or not eroded midanteriorly, more substantially eroded anterolaterally; setae v1 7 (7–10), v2 alveolar remnant, sc1 usually thickened, thorn-like 7 (7–12) [14/ 16 in specimen #5, 12/ 15 in specimen #8, 9/ 15 in specimen #11], sc2 50–80. Distance between setae v1–v1 47 (41–49), sc1–sc1 105 (94–105), v1–sc1 38 (32–36), v2–v2 45 (41–50), sc2–sc2 130 (125– 130), sc1–sc2 27 (25–32). Opisthosomal setae c1, c2, d, f usually stout but sometimes with fine tips. Plate C setae c1 7 (6–12; 15 in specimen #8), c2 10 (10–15), distance between setae c1–c1 84 (82–100). Plate D setae d 10 (10–15), d–d 155 (160–185), cupuli ia laterad d. Plate EF setae f 7/10 (asymmetry) (7–12; 10/ 13 in specimen #8; 15 in specimen #15), f–f 115 (130–150), cupuli im laterad f. Plate H divided or fused weakly, seta h 7 (5–7). Venter: coxisterna 1 well defined, coxisterna 2 well defined but sometimes with folds, coxisterna 3 weakly defined; coxal setae slender, 1a 4 (3–4), 2a 6 (5–6), 3a thickened, 3–6, 3b 4–6. Alveoli of 1b, 2b present.

Legs (holotype only, except if holotype different from E. hadros / mixtus ). Setal counts legs I–III, femur-tarsus: 3-2-6(+ φ)-8(+ ω), 0-1-4-6, 0-1-4-6. Leg I. Femur I, d minute, l’ 2, v″ 14; genu I, l′ 3, l″ 3; tibia I, d 60, l’ 7, l’’ 10, v’ 5, v’’ 8, k 5, φ 8 (7–9); tarsus I, tc’ 14, tc’’ 15, pl’ 7, pl’’ 13, pv′ 3, pv’’ 4, ω 4, s 7, u′′ minute. Leg II. Genu II, l′ 4; tibia II, d 40, l’ 7, v’ 12, v’’ 23; tarsus II, tc′ 2, tc ″ 6, pl ″ 55, pv’’ 4, u’ 7, u′′ minute. Leg III. Genu III, l′ 3; tibia III, d 29, l’ 8, v’ 11, v’’ 21; tarsus III, tc’ 2, tc ″ 6, pl ″ 52, pv’’ 4, u’ 8, u′′ minute.

LARVIFORM ADULT MALE (n = 7).

Gnathosoma . Length 33–35, width 30–32. Cheliceral stylets 25–28, setae ch 6–7, su 5–7.

Idiosoma . Length 170–185, width 120–130. Prodorsal plate with setae v1 3–5, v2 alveolar remnant, sc1 5–6, sc2 70–80. Distance between setae v1–v1 19–21, sc1–sc1 46–50, v1–sc1 22–26, v2–v2 19–22, sc2–sc2 57–63, sc1–sc2 20–21. Plate CD setae c1 5–7, c2 4–6, d 5–6, distance between setae c1–c1 42–45, c1–c2 27–31, d–d 40–43; cupuli ia anterolaterad setae d. Plate EF eroded medially, sometimes almost divided; with setae f 2–4, distance f–f 27–28; cupuli im anterolaterad to laterad setae f. Genital capsule length 28–31, width 31–32, setae h minute. Venter: coxal setae 1a 2–3, 2a 4, 3a 2–3, 3b 4–5.

Legs. Setal counts legs I–III, femur-tarsus: 3-2-6(+ φ)-8(+ ω), 0-1-4-6, 0-1-4-6. Leg I. Femur I, d minute, l’ minute, v″ 7; genu I l′ 2, l″ 2; tibia I, d 44, l’ 2, l’’ 3, v ’ 3, v ’’ 7, k 4, φ 8; tarsus I, tc’ 12, tc’’ 12, pl’ 7, pl’’ 12, pv ′ 2, pv’’ 2, ω 3, s 5, u ′′ 2. Leg II. Genu II, l′ 2; tibia II, d 18, l’ 5, v’ 10, v’’ 17; tarsus II, tc′ 3, tc ″ 4, pl ″ 28, pv’’ 3, u’ 5, u″ 2. Leg III. Tibia III, d 14, l’ 5, v’ 11, vʺ 11; tarsus III, tc′ 3, tc ″ 4, pl ″ 22, pv’’ 3, u’ 5, u″ minute.

LARVAL FEMALE (n = 15).

Gnathosoma . Length 48–52, width 46–54. Cheliceral stylets 63–70, setae ch 27–29, su 7–9.

Idiosoma . Length 195–280, width 135–215. Prodorsal plate with setae v1 4–7, v2 alveolar remnant, sc1 5–8, sc2 100–120. Distance between setae v1–v1 28–37, sc1–sc1 65–75, v1–sc1 23–26, v2–v2 32–37, sc2–sc2 71–85, sc1–sc2 32–37. Plate C setae c1 8–11, c2 5–10, distance between setae c1–c1 40–48. Plate D setae d 7–10, d–d 49–63, cupuli ia very close to setae d, anteriad to anterolaterad d. Plate EF setae f 7–10, f–f 48–50, cupuli im close to setae f, anteriad f. Plate H narrow, 13–15 wide, ca. 25–35 long bearing setae h1 ca. 170, h2 6–8 (Mt Mee specimens 12–15). Venter: coxisterna 1-2 well defined, coxisterna 3 poorly defined, membranous; coxal setae 1a 2–3, slender, 2a 4–5, slender, 3a 3–5 sometimes slightly thickened, 3b 4–5, slender. Alveoli of 1b, 2b present.

Legs. Setal counts legs I–III, femur-tarsus: 3-2-6(+ φ)-8(+ ω), 0-1-4-6, 0-1-4-6. Leg I. Femur I, d minute, l′ 2, v″ 8; genu I, l′ 3, l″ 2; tibia I, d 62, l’ 9, l’’ 10, v’ 3, v’’ 11, k 5, φ 10; tarsus I, tc’ 12, tc’’ 13, pl’ 10, pl’’ 16, pv′ 2, pv’’ 3, ω 3, s 5, u′′ 2. Leg II. Genu II, l′ 3; tibia II, d 35, l’ 5, v’ 15, v’’ 15; tarsus II, tc′ 2, tc ″ 4, pl ″ 37, pv’’ 3, u’ 6, u′′ minute. Leg III. Genu III, l′ 3; tibia III, d 33, l’ 6, v’ 13, v’’ 15; tarsus III, tc’ 2, tc ″ 4, pl ″ 32, pv’’ 3, u’ 6, u′′ minute.

Differential diagnosis. Eutarsopolipus umbonatus sp. nov. is similar to E. mixtus sp. nov. by having much stronger dorsal setae compared with E. hadros . However, like all species and particularly E. mixtus , the form of these setae differed intraspecifically: although the thicker nature of these setae are useful for separating E. umbonatus from E. hadros , they are too variable to separate E. umbonatus from E. mixtus . Larvae are more useful for distinguishing the latter two species. Larva of E. umbonatus have smaller idiosomal setae: setae c1 (8–11 versus 13–20), d (7–10 versus 11–12) and f (7–10 versus 14–19) are slightly to obviously shorter in E. umbonatus .

Etymology. The specific name umbonatus (knob-like) refers to the short, more knob-like setae in females of this species.

Remarks. In larvae, setae h2 were longer in the type series from Mt Mee (12–15) compared with the three specimens from other sites (6–8). No other features distinguished these populations. However, Mt Mee is part of a mountain range (the D’Aguilar Range) to the northwest of Brisbane, while all other collections were from the Border Range to the south to southwest of Brisbane. The geographical separation of these populations, combined with the difference in length of seta h, suggests that these may be separate species on isolated populations of Castelnaudia cordata . Furthermore, these differences also suggest that the host species deserves closer attention. The D’Aguilar Range has several endemic taxa, such as a unique assemblage of anamid spiders ( Rix et al. 2020). Likewise, the beetle specimens from the D’Aguilar Range may be an endemic species closely related to C. cordata .

The above three species, E. hadros , E. mixtus and E. umbonatus , are very closely related and it is tempting to consider all three as one species. However, each species does exhibit subtle differences, they occur on different host species, and are highly isolated geographically with the hosts C. setosiceps , C. mixta and C. cordata in north-east Queensland, middle-east Queensland and south-east Queensland, respectively.

One paratype female has a fully developed larva within its body, with no egg, indicating vivipary. Two larvae of another species close to Eutarsopolipus echinatus Seeman, 2019a (i.e. same thorn-like setae, but clearly a different species) were also collected from C. cordata : one from the type host (on a separate slide) and one from Lower Coomera and on the same slide as the larva of E. umbonatus (QMS 113496). This species was found co-infesting its host with E. hebronae sp. nov. and E. osculum sp. nov. ( Tables 1 , 2 ).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Eutarsopolipus umbonatus sp. nov. Female, dorsum.