Zelandobates tongariro, Smit & Pešić, 2020

Smit, Harry & Pešić, Vladimir, 2020, New records of water mites from New Zealand, with the description of three new genera and ten new species (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Acarologia 60 (4), pp. 903-950 : 916-918

Zelandobates tongariro n. sp.

Zoobank: 594FF421-330B-4AC6-8E58-6938146A254F

( Figures 7, 8 A­E)

Material examined. Holotype male, Waihohonu River below Waihohonu Hut , Tongariro National Park, North Island, New Zealand, 39°12 ′ 32.36’’S 175°40 ′ 49.97’’E, 3­iii­1990, leg. A. Ballot ( NMNZ).

Diagnosis. Male: Dorsum with a large unpaired plate with concave lateral margins, a smaller unpaired posterior plate and five pairs of platelets, two of these platelets without glandularia; venter with a pair of large platelets posterior to Cx­IV.

Description. Male: Idiosoma papillate, dorsally 631 long and 456 wide, ventrally 706 long. Dorsum with a large unpaired anterior plate, 400 long, 278 wide, with a pair of postocularia, covering more than half the dorsum, and a smaller unpaired posterior plate, 114 long, 146

= 100 µm, C = 50 µm.

wide. Moreover, dorsum with five pairs of platelets, anterolateral platelets located lateral to anterodorsal plate and with 1­2 glandularia, and four pairs of smaller platelets, two of these without glandularia. Venter with three groups of coxae, coxal field 425 long and 498 wide, Cx­I+II fused medially. Cxgl­4 located near suture line of Cx­III/IV. Posterior to Cx­IV a pair of large platelets. Cxgl­3 close to the latter platelets but not fused. Genital field, 163 long and 156 wide, with three pairs of acetabula, gonopore 72 long. Lateral to genital field a pair of small, elongated platelets. Vgl­2 and excretory pore immediately posterior to genital field. Length of P1­5: 23, 89, 86, 111, 50. P2 and P3 with many small papillae, P4 with a large ventral projection. Length of I­leg­4­6: 119, 125, 125. Length of IV­leg­4­6: 167, 171, 147.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology: Named after the national park where the species was found; the name is a noun in apposition.

Remarks. The only other Zelandobates species with a very large anterodorsal plate is Z. crinitus Hopkins , but this species has very large dorsal glandularia setae. Moreover, in the male the lateral margin of the unpaired anterodorsal plate is straight (concave in the new species). For a comparison with Z. occidentalis n. sp. see there.

Figures

Figure 8 Zelandobates tongariron. sp., male holotype (A­C drawings, D­E photographs). A, D – idiosoma, dorsal view; B – gnathosoma and palp; C – I­leg; E – ejaculatory complex. Scale bars = 100 µm.