Holoparasitus maritimus, Hyatt, 1987

Ilinca Juvara-Bals, 2017, New and rare species of Holoparasitus Oudemans, 1936 (Acari, Gamasida, Parasitidae) from the Athias-Henriot Collection, Revue suisse de Zoologie 124 (2), pp. 225-239 : 230-232

H. maritimus Hyatt, 1987

Material examined

Spain

1 female; Prov. Pontevedra, Cuesta del Ralo Salcedo, sifting leaves under bushes near old Quercus sp. tree; 1.07.1952 (Sp. 121). – 4 females, 3 males; Isla Estela, Enterra near Bayona, grassland; 2.08.1956 (Sp. 474). ‒ 1 male; Monte Ferro, near Bayona, grassland; 3.08.1956, (Sp. 478). – 2 females, 1 male; Isla de Onc, humid turfs near a spring; 4.08.1956 (Sp. 484). ‒ 2 females, 1 male, idem, from moss; (Sp. 122). – 1 female, 1DN; Prov. Ourense, Montes del Invernadero near Verin, Sierra de San Mamed near Campo de Buceros, soil near a rivulet; 24.07.1955 (Sp. 408). ‒ 2 females, 1 male; Prov. Galicia, Sierra de Fontefria near Caniza, under Quercus robur ; 31.07.1956 (Sp. 471). – 1 female; Brana de Bruins, near Santiago de Compostela, moss from a small peat bog; 4.08.1956 (Sp. 497). ‒ 6 females, 3 males; Prov. Leon, Rio Duerna valley, near Molina Ferrada , leaf litter under bushes of Quercus pyrenaica and Erica arborea ; 10.08.1957 (Sp. 567). ‒ 1 female, 1 male; idem, leaf litter under Quercus toza near a rivulet; 10.08.1957 (Sp. 568). ‒ 5 females, 3 males; Principado de Asturias, El Fito, west of Aviles, Oviedo, leaf litter under Betula sp., Alnus sp., Quercus sp.; 16.08 1957 (Sp. 587). ‒ 1 female; Prov. Jaen, Sierra de Cazorlas, near Pantano el Tranco, leaf litter in maquis; 22.04. 1963 (Sp. 945). ‒ 1 male; Tenerife, Anaga, road to Pico del Ingles, leaf litter in laurel forest; 8.04. 1965 (Sp. 1038).

Portugal

2 females; Madeira, south slope under Rabaçal, leaf litter under mimosa tree; 30.03. 1967 (Sp. 1138). – 1 female; Ribeiro Grande and Ribeiro Bonito, leaf litter in laurel forest; 7.04. 1967 (Sp. 1148 - 1151). ‒ 1 female, 2 males; Queimadas near Santana, leaf litter of laurel tree; 1.04. 1967 (Sp. 1141). – 1 female, 1 male; Acha das Areias, under la Boca de Encumeada; 5.04. 1967 (Sp. 1146).

Remarks: Holoparasitus maritimus was described from Great Britain the type locality is Cornwall-Kelsey “from thrift Armeria maritima , on cliffs” ( Hyatt, 1987). The species was also sampled in Scotland (Inner Hebrides) and in the Channel Islands (Jersey) from mossy turf, seaweed and beach grass. In the Athias-Henriot Collection I identified H. maritimus predominantly from different places and biotopes in the north-west and east of Spain (Prov. Pontevedra, Ourense, Galicia, Leon and the Principado de Asturias), as well as from the islands of Madeira and Tenerife. The distribution of these species seems to be linked to the sea shore and to the European Atlantic coast. Unexpectedly, I found H. maritimus also in one sample (Sp. 945) from the Sierra de Cazorla in the south of Spain. For a meaningful discussion of the distribution of this species more samples from other countries in Europe are necessary. Holoparasitus maritimus is easily recognizable by the following characteristics: the cuticle of the podonotum is medially strongly granular, the gnathotectum triangular, with a granular cuticle; the female has a simple cup-like endogynium with two lateral protrusions, a mucronate epigynial apex and a particular ornamentation of the sternal shield.