Atractides latisetus ( K. Viets, 1916 )

Pešić, Vladimir, Smit, Harry & Gerecke, Reinhard, 2011, New records of water mites of the genus Atractides Koch, 1837 (Acari: Hydrachnidia, Hygrobatidae) from South Africa, with descriptions of five new species, Zootaxa 2986, pp. 1-54 : 8

Atractides latisetus ( K. Viets, 1916)

( Fig. 6 )

Megapus latisetus K. Viets 1916: 272 .

Syn. A. affinis (Lundblad, 1927) : Lundblad 1952.

Material examined. South Africa, Mpumalanga province: DC 78 84 0/1/0 (mounted).

General features. Dorsal integument striated; muscle attachments unsclerotized; Coxal field: coxae with borders of secondary sclerotization, medioposterior margin Cx-I+II bluntly indented. Genital field: Ac in obtuse triangular arrangement. Excretory pore: smooth; Vgl-1 fused to Vgl-2. Palp: slender, ventral margin of P-2 slightly convex, ventral margin of P-3 slightly concave, ventral margin of P-4 straight, sword seta between ventral hairs. I- L-5 S-1 and S-2 pointed, interspaced, S-2 basally enlarged, I-L-6 slender, curved, with maximum H proximally; leg claws with dorsal and ventral clawlets ( Fig. 6D ).

Morphology. Female. Idiosoma L/W 880/713; glandularia maximum diameter 31; coxal field: L 472; Cx-III W 562; Cx-I+II mL 158, lL 306. Genital field ( Fig. 6B ): L/W 177/211; genital plate L 150; L Ac 1-3: 56, 61-67, 66-69.

Palp ( Fig. 6C ): total L 449, dL: P-1, 38; P-2, 85; P-3, 128; P-4, 156; P-5, 42; L ratio P-2/P-4, 0.58; capitulum vL 153, chelicera total L 271.

I-L ( Fig. 6E ): I-L-5 dL 308, vL 211, dL/vL ratio1.46, HB 59, dL/HB 5.2, S-1 ending in a fine hair-like tip, L 189, L/ W 15.4, S-2 L 123, L/ W 5.44, distance S-1-2, 40, L ratio S-1/2, 1.54; I-L-6 L 219, HB 16, L/HB ratio 13.8; L ratio I-L-5/6, 1.21.

Remarks. Due to the striated integument, a slender palp with P-2 lacking ventrodistal projection and similar morphology of I-L-5 and -6, with S-1 ending in a fine hair-like tip ( Fig. 6E ), the single female specimen from the Mpumalanga province shows general conformity with A. latisetus ( K. Viets, 1916) .

Distribution. Cameroon: K. Viets (1916); East Africa: Lundblad (1952); Liberia: Cook (1966); South Africa: Mpumalanga province (Eastern Transvaal): K.O. Viets (1964a), present study.

Figures

FIGURE 6 A – E. Atractides latisetus (K. Viets, 1916), female, tributary of Sterkspruit River: A = idiosoma, ventral view; B = genital field, excretory pore and Vgl- 1 and - 2; C = palp, medial view; D = leg claw; E = I-L- 5 and – 6. Scale bars = 100 μm.