Paraplothrombium Robaux, 1968: 463

Clark, John M., 2019, Paraplothrombium maketawa n. sp. (Acariformes: Parasitengona), the first member of the Johnstonianidae recorded in New Zealand, Acarologia 59 (3), pp. 433-442 : 434

Paraplothrombium Robaux, 1968: 463 .

Type species: P. problematicum by original designation.

Diagnosis (amended from Robaux 1968) — Female. Crista metopica only with posterior sensilla, PSens; anterior sensilla replaced by n setae. Scutum prolonged into broad, blunt naso with anterior part separated from the posterior part by a constriction (possibly a preparation artifact). With coxal pars medialis; palp trochanter with oval fenestra. Palp tibia long, tapered, slender; basidont unidentate, inserted paraxially and ventrally, equal to odontus in length and stoutness; palp and leg tibiae and tarsi with raised fin-like spurs. Distribution: Chile, New Zealand. Male, larva and nymphs: unknown.

Remarks — Robaux’s description of P. problematicum does not describe or illustrate fin-like cuticle spurs. However, they are present (Mark Judson pers. comm. July, 2019). Diplothrombium Berlese, 1910 (probably a sister genus) possesses these cuticle spurs on palp and TiI but in D. longipalpe , they are present on Ta I – IV ( Wohltmann et al. 2004). Newell (1957) illustrates them clearly on the palp tibia of D. micidium in his Fig. 153. The new species

has these structures (labelled fs in figures) on the PaTi and Ta and dorsodistally on TiI and TaII, III and IV. However there is a gradation in size and shape of the spurs from a cuticle swelling on distodorsal TaI to rather square shaped cuticle swellings (viewed laterally), especially around ω and ζ, on all leg tarsi. These two forms have not been called fin-like spurs in this paper.