Janszoonia difficilis, Smit, 2007

Smit, Harry, 2007, New Records of Hyporheic Water Mites from Australia, with a Description of Two New Genera and Ten New Species (Acari: Hydrachnidia), Records of the Australian Museum 59 (2), pp. 97-116 : 112-115

Janszoonia difficilis n.sp.

Figs. 47–50

Type material. HOLOTYPE female, Never Never Creek , Tallywood Point, New South Wales, Australia, 30°21.624'S 152°54.269'E, 7 November 2005 ( AMS).

Diagnosis. As for genus.

Description. Female: As for genus. Idiosoma 583 long and 415 wide dorsally, and 640 long ventrally. Dorsal shield large, separated from ventral shield by a narrow strip of soft integument. Dorsal shield 543 long and 381 wide, with three pairs of glandularia and a pair of postocularia. Distance between anterior two pairs of glandularia larger than distance between posterior two pairs. First coxae rounded and extending beyond anterior idiosoma margin. Suture lines between first and second coxae indistinct. A pair of glandularia near anterior margin of third coxae. Genital field 124 long. Lateral of the genital field a pair of glandularia. Excretory pore closer to posterior idiosoma margin than to genital field. Lengths of PI–PV: 30, 67, 47, 74, 32. PV enlarged, wider than illustrated in Fig. 49 (because of its oblique position in the slide), with two long medial setae. Lengths of I-leg-4–5: 72, 100, 88; I-leg-3 with two long, ventral setae. Lengths of IV-leg-4–6: 102, 134, 120. Legs without swimming setae, only some small rudimentary setae present. Claws without clawlets.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology. Named for difficulties encountered when collecting this species. Although the Never Never Creek is known as a good collecting site for hyporheic water mites (Boulton & Harvey, 2003; Boulton et al., 2004), none could be found in 2003, despite intensive collecting efforts over a period of two days. On the second occasion in 2005, again after intensive efforts to collect, only two water mites were collected, the new species described here and one Oxus .

Family Arrenuridae Thor

Figures

Figs 47–50. Janszoonia difficilis n.sp., holotype female, (47) ventral view; (48) dorsal view; (49) palp; (50) palp + capitulum. Scale bars Fig. 48 = 200 µm, Figs 47,49,50 = 50 µm.