Liebstadia longior

Miko, L. & Weigmann, G., 1996, Notes on the genus Liebstadia Oudemans, 1906 (Acarina, Oribatida) in Central Europe, Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Series B, Historia Naturalis 52, pp. 73-100 : 74-78

Liebstadia longior (BERLESE, 1908)

Figs 1-2

syn.:

Protoribates longior BERLESE, 1908

Protoribates badensis SELLNICK, 1928 syn. nov.

non Liebstadia longior sensu KUNST (1971: fig. 154)

non Liebstadia longior sensu WILLMANN (1930: fig. 12), Ghilyarov et Krivolutsky (1975: fig. 658)

The study of an individual of Protoribates badensis SELLNICK, 1928 from the Strenzke Collection, collected near the locus typicus of this species in German Schwarzwald (Black Forest) showed, that this species belongs without any doubts to the same genus as the very similar species Liebstadia humerata SELLNICK, 1928, i.e. it must be considered as a member of the genus Liebstadia . Other material studied from Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria also confirmed with the original description and the German individual, therefore the identity of the species is definitive.

The comparison of our material of Central European representatives of Liebstadia with typical material from the Berlese Collection by one of the authors (G. W.) had an unexpected result: the material of Protoribates badensis was found to be conspecific with Protoribates longior , a classical Berlese species (Figs 1, 2). Sellnick's species P. badensis is therefore considered as a junior synonym of Protoribates longior , and the generic Status of the species was changed to Liebstadia . Because of limited observability of some details of Berlese's material, the following redescription of the species was completed on the basis of the study of the mentioned material from collections of Strenzke, Rafalski and Kunst.

Material studied:

Material from Berlese's collection:

- 1 male in balsam (slide 74/13), in ventral position. Label text: " Protoribates longior BERLESE tipico, legno do ordere (=firewood) Firenze".

- 1 female in balsam (slide 74/14), in dorsal position, with 2 eggs inside, labeled: " Protoribates longior BERLESE tipico, legno do ordere (=firewood) Firenze".

- 1 female in balsam (slide 74/15), in bad condition. Label text: " Protoribates longior BERLESE sphagnum".

Material from Collection Strenzke:

- 1 mounted female (SMF 16588), Schwarzwald (Black Forest, Germany), in a bog Site, 18.7.1951, leg. Th. Großpietsch, labeled': " Protoribates badensis SELLN. 1928". Seen by "C. Willmann 22.XII.52" (fig. 1).

- (slide SMF 16589, labeled " Protoribates badensis " is another species, perhaps a Haplozetidae ).

Material from Rafalski's collection:

-1 female in alcohol, Bialowieza Nat. Park (Poland), 5.IX.58 (sample 193a), labeled: " Protoribates badensis SELL." (fig. 2).

Material from Willmann's collection (Staatssammlungen Munich):

- slide K671, labeled: " Protoribates badensis , Schneeberg 1937 (E28)", with 3 specimens.

- slide K672, labeled: " P. badensis , Schneeberg 13, Adelheidsquelle, 14.7.36".

Material from Kunst's collection:

- 2 males and 5 females in alcohol (vial 1757), labeled:" Liebstadia badensis , Blatna, 11. 11. 1964", (Czech Republic), leg. M. Kunst.

- 2 males and 2 females in alcohol, labeled: " Protoribates badensis , Mas'lennos" (Bulgaria), dry moss growths on the oak bark ( Quercus ), 15. 7. 1958, leg. M. Kunst (the vial contained a lot of individuals, from which four were used for redescription).

Redescription of the adult

Diagnosis:

Small and very flat species of yellow to brown colour; lamellar complex as typical in Liebstadia species; sensillus very short, globular or globular-fusiform; 10 notogastral setae; 3 pairs of areae porosae on notogaster; pteromorphs short, subtriangular and distinctly rounded blades. not bent downwards.

The immatures are unknown.

General characters:

Total length of males 325-336 µm (average 330 µm, n=4), width on notogaster behind the pteromorphs 133-139 µm (average 137 µm). Measures of females: length 336-395 µm, width 139-162 µm (average 356x151 µm, n=9). Dorsoventral thickness in postgenital area about 70-80 µm; length:width ratio ranking from 2.25:1 to 2.45:1 (usually about 2.3:1), length:dorsoventral thickness ratio over 4.5:1. Colour of body bright yellowish brown or yellow.

Prodorsum:

Rostrum rounded; with long setae in, le and ro. Lamellar ridge from le to in ("Liebstadia-type"); sublamella well developed, ending basal of bothridium; prolamella is a well developed ridge (fig. 2c). Sensillus 20-24 µm long, with short stalk and globular or globular-fusiform head (fig. 1c). Exobothridial seta short; area porosa sublamellaris small but well developed. Tutorial ridge abseilt, peclotecta I and II small.

Notogaster:

Anterior border curved, expanding to the prodorsum, hardly visible. The pteromorphs well developed, rounded horizontal blades, short, not reaching posteriorly to the 1/3 of the notogaster length. 10 notogastral setae of 10-20 µm length; normal number and position of lyrifissures, lyrifissure tarn comparatively very long; 3 pairs of areae porosae (Aa, A1, A2+3), mostly with about ten pores each. Seta lp not positioned closely to area A1 (ratio of distances lp-A1: h3-A1 about 1:3).

Gnathosoma:

With typical characters of the family; pedipalp setation normal: 0-2-1-3-9(+1).

Ventral region:

Epimeral setae Short, epimeral setal formula normal (3133); no specific characters in apodemes. Genital plates of about 40 - 45 µm in length. 4 genital, 1 aggenital, 3 adanal and 2 anal setae present. Length of anal plates about 45 - 54 µm. At the lateral and posterior border of the ventral plate a long, area-porosa-like ribbon present (typical of all Liebstadia species and present also in other Scheloribatidae ).

Legs:

Normal shape and setation is present. All legs are monodaetyl. Seta l' in tarsus I absent. The setal formulae of femora to tarsi including famulus, without solenidia (number of solenidia in parenthesis) as follows:

leg I: 5-3(1)-4(2)-18 (2)

leg II:5-2(1)-4(1)-15(2)

leg III: 3-1(1)-3(1)-15

leg IV: 2-2-3(1)- 12.

Distribution:

Europe, Northern Asia, Japan.

Ecology:

Living on the bark of trees (Willmann 1933, 1956), which might be the favoured habitat (see also the high number of individuals from mosses on trec bark from Bulgaria in the Kunst Collection and locus typicus of Berlese's material); occasionally oecurring in alder vvood and in different forests; in bog (Strenzke Coll. specialen).