Atractides

Gerecke, Reinhard, 2003, Water mites of the genus Atractides Koch, 1837 (Acari: Parasitengona: Hygrobatidae) in the western Palaearctic region: a revision, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 138, pp. 141-378 : 299

ATRACTIDES STYGOPHILUS (SCHWOERBEL, 1959)

Atractides nodipalpis stygophilus nom. nud. Schwoerbel (1959c) descr. Schwoerbel (1961a)

Syn. to A. remotus Szalay, 1953 : syn. nov.

Type series: Holotype ♂, CSM Steina G.29; ATRACTIDES nodipalpis stygophilus ssp.n. TYPE ♂. State of conservation: idiosoma with all legs except for left III-L more or less damaged or lost; gnathosoma, both I-L, chelicerae, palps separate, laterally, crushed. Paratype ♀, CSM Steina G.30; ATRAC- TIDES nodipalpis stygophilus ssp. n. ALLOTYPUS ♀. State of conservation: idiosoma with only left I-/II-L in situ, further legs partly broken, together with mouthparts under separate cover, crushed; the I-L in situ, not crushed, clearly visible. There is a contradiction betwen the locality indicated on the slide labels and the original description (‘Oberlauf der Breg in 940 m ü.N.N. 1 ♂ und 1 ♀ ’).

Discussion: Describing this taxon as a subspecies of A. nodipalpis, Schwoerbel only compared it with taxa placed on this taxonomic level at that time. The only taxon with coxal plates merged to form a continuous coxal shield, and a rather long I-L-6 (L ratio I-L-5/6 1.2) is A. nodipalpis intermedius , an incompletely known taxon here considered a species dubia. In fact, A. stygophilus is a typical representative of the panniculatus species group, due to the combination of a lineated integument, I-L with wide setal interspace, slender I-L-6, Ac in triangular arrangement in both sexes, excretory pore smooth, and Vgl-1 + 2 unfused. It is most similar to A. remotus due to the fusion of the coxal plates in males, genital field with relatively small acetabula, P-4 with ventral hairs placed close together and strong sword seta in distant distal position. All measurements taken from the idiosoma of the types, or published in the original description for the mouthparts and I-L, agree with the values established for A. remotus from specimens ex coll. Láska ( MMB). A slight difference in the broader and longer genital field of A. stygophilus is explained by the age-dependent extension of secondary sclerites. Láska described the variation in secondary sclerotization of A. remotus ; the male holotype is a mature specimen with extended sclerite borders. A. stygophilus is thus a junior synonym of A. remotus .