Hoplophorella clavifer, Mahunka & Mahunka-Papp, 2009

Mahunka, S. & Mahunka-Papp, L., 2009, New and little known oribatids from Kenya, with descriptions of two new genera (Acari: Oribatida), Journal of Natural History 43 (11 - 12), pp. 737-768 : 741-742

Hoplophorella clavifer sp. nov.

Diagnosis

Lateral carina short, lateral rim absent. Rostral setae longer than the lamellar setae. Sensillus short, directed forwards, its head well barbed. Fifteen pairs of notogastral setae, all short and clavate. Their head well barbed. Three pairs of long anoadanal setae arising along the inner margin of the anoadanal plates. One pair of setae (ad 2) lateral to them, phylliform.

Material examined

Holotype. Kenya, Muguga , 20 November 2004. Leg. Cs. Csuzdi. two paratypes from the same sample (AFR-978) . Holotype (1736-HO-2007) and one paratype: HNHM, one paratype: MHNG .

Measurements

Length of aspis 318 Mm, length of notogaster 582 Mm, height of notogaster 396 Mm.

Aspis

Dorsal outline uniformly, slightly convex medially, bent downwards abruptly to rostral setae, so that it is almost angular in lateral view. Median crista absent, lateral carina very short, ending far from the lateral margin. Lateral rim weak, anteriorly absent. One pair of longitudinal rims present in the basal part, laterally ( Figure 2C ). Rostral setae comparatively long, thick, spiniform, lamellar and interlamellar setae short, all three pairs finely roughened. Exobothridial setae minute, but easily visible. Sensillus short, directed forwards, gradually dilated, nearly sword-shaped, distinctly barbed unilaterally.

Notogaster

Surface ornamented by large, irregular alveoli ( Figure 2A ), their inner part finely punctate. Fifteen pairs of short, clavate notogastral setae present. Their distal part distinctly barbed. Setae c (c 1 – c 3, cp) arising at almost equal distance from the collar line ( Figure 2A ). Setae f 1 arising behind h 1, close to it. Lyrifissures hardly visible, only im observable.

Ventral parts

Genital and anal plates with longitudinal ribs, which frame the genital and anoadanal setae ( Figure 2D ).Three pairs of anoadanal setae arising along the inner margin, all three pairs slightly dilated, spiniform, smooth. Located beside them, setae ad 4, longer and phylliform, roughened, the much shorter fifth pairs (ad 5) blunt at the tip, also roughened. Genital setae arising in longitudinal rows ( Figure 2B ), g 1 – g 4 much thicker, roughened and longer than setae g 5 – g 9.

Legs

Setae d on femur I thick and curved, setae v 0 and v 9 arising close to each other, the latter much shorter than the former.

Remarks

On the basis of the genitoanal setal formula and the form of the setae ad 4 the new species belongs without doubt to the genus Hoplophorella Berlese, 1923 . It is distinguished from all related taxa by the characteristic form of the notogastral setae and by the location of the setae c on the notogaster (see Niedbała 1983, 1992). The pattern of the notogastral surface is unique in this genus and the shape of the characteristic anoadanal plates was also unknown.

Etymology

The new species is named after the remarkable form of the notogastral setae.

Figures

Figure 2. Hoplophorella clavifer sp. nov. (A) Body in lateral view, (B) anogenital region, (C) aspis in dorsal view, (D) median part of the anal plates.