Paracheletogenes, Khaustov & Salavatulin & Tsurikov & Thinh & Khaustov, 2024

Khaustov, Alexander A., Salavatulin, Vladimir M., Tsurikov, Sergey M., Thinh, Nguyen Van & Khaustov, Vladimir A., 2024, Free-living predatory cheyletid mites (Acariformes: Cheyletidae) from Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam, Zootaxa 5556 (1), pp. 268-295 : 287-288

Genus Paracheletogenes gen. nov.

Type species: Paracheletogenes mirabilis sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Female. Idiosoma as long as wide; legs II and III separated by less than body width. Ocelli present; dorsum with prodorsal and hysteronotal shields, lateral and median setae dissimilar in shape; setae c2 fan-shaped; dorsal cuticle out of shields with tubercles. Palpal tarsus with two comb-like and two sickle-like setae; palpal claw with more than three teeth. Peritremes with more than three segments. All legs distinctly shorter than idiosoma; tarsus I without claws and empodium, with three long terminal setae (tc’ϛ, tc”ϛ, p’ϛ) and a short solenidion ω; guard (ft) and vs setae absent; tarsus I ventrally with three short setae (p”, u’, u”); tarsi II–IV with smooth claws; solenidion φ on tibia II absent.

Species included. The new genus includes only one species P. mirabilis sp. nov. described herein.

Differential diagnosis. As Vietocheyla gen. nov., the new genus also belongs to the tribe Cheletogenini . The new genus is most similar to Cheletogenes in having palpal tibial claw with more than three teeth; dorsal idiosomal cuticle out of shields with tubercles; tarsus I without seta vs, and palptibia with characteristic flat anteromedian flange. The new genus differs from Cheletogenes in having dissimilar in shape dorsocentral and lateral dorsal idiosomal setae (vs. dorsocentral and lateral dorsal idiosomal setae similar in shape in Cheletogenes ); tarsus I with three long terminal setae (tc’ϛ, tc”ϛ, p’ϛ) and three ventral setae (p”, u’, u”) (vs. with two long terminal setae (tc’ϛ, tc”ϛ) and two ventral setae (u’, u”) in Cheletogenes ).

The new genus is also similar to Prosocheyla in having palpal tibial claw with more than three teeth; dorsal idiosomal setae dissimilar in shape; tarsus I with three long terminal setae. The new genus differs from Prosocheyla in having idiosoma of subequal length and width (vs. idiosoma distinctly longer than width in Prosocheyla ); dorsal idiosomal cuticle out of shields with tubercles (vs. dorsal idiosomal cuticle out of shields without tubercles in Prosocheyla ); tarsus I without seta vs (vs. tarsus I with seta vs in Prosocheyla ); palptibia with characteristic flat anteromedian flange (vs. palptibia without flat anteromedian flange in Prosocheyla ).

Etymology. The name of the new genus is a combination of two words: prefix para and the name of closely related genus Cheletogenes , and refers to similarity of the new genus with Cheletogenes .