Lourus, Ueckermann & Grout, 2007

Ueckermann, Edward A. & Grout, Timothy G., 2007, Tydeoid mites (Acari: Tydeidae, Edbakerellidae, Iolinidae) occurring on Citrus in southern Africa, Journal of Natural History 41 (37 - 40), pp. 2351-2378 : 2372

Genus Lourus gen. nov.

Type species. Lourus testatus ( Kuznetzov, 1972) .

Diagnosis

Adults. This new genus is closely related to Neopronematus Panou et al. but differs from the latter in that setae h 2 and ps 2 are present. The leg chaetotaxy of both genera is the same.

Panou et al. (2000) based Neopronematus on two of Kuznetzov’s (1972) species, namely Pronematus rapidus and P. neglectus , with the former as type species, and a new species they described from Greece. They ignored P. testatus Kuznetzov which, along with L. citricolus sp. n., differs from Neopronematus in bearing dorsal seta h 2 and anal seta ps 2.

This new genus can be defined as follows: propodosoma with four pairs of setae, including trichobothria (sci), opisthosoma with 10 pairs of setae (including ps 1–2), posterior margin with a lobe; this lobe is also present in the type species L. testatus (Dr A. Khaustov, personal communication); poroidotaxy: 4; genital organotaxy: 0-0-4; solenidiotaxy: 3; epimeral formula 3-1-4-1 or 2, palp chaetotaxy 5-1-1 or 2; chaetotaxy of trochantera 1-1-1-0. Differences in setation of coxae IV and the palp femur are regarded as significant at species level .

Etymology

The genus name is derived from the Latin word lobus meaning lobe and the Greek word oura meaning tail and refers to the posterior lobe of the opisthosoma of L. citricolus ; L. testatus also have a small lobe. The gender is masculine.