Afrodinychus africanus Kontschán & Starý 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kontschán, Jenő
name: Starý, Josef
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Dinychidae
Afrodinychus
Afrodinychus africanus

description: Afrodinychus africanus sp. nov.
(Figs 26–40)
Material examined. Holotype. Female, Tanzania, North Pare Mts., Nwaga district, Kindorko Forest Reserve. Typical elfin forest on the main summit, 2110 m, 4 May 1990, T. Pócs & F.N.R. Mioga coll. (HNHM). Paratype. One female (ISB) and one male (HNHM), locality and date same as for holotype.
Description. Female. Length of idiosoma 400–410 µm, width 290–300 µm (n=2). Idiosoma oval, posterior margin rounded, caudal part elevated above dorsal shield.
Dorsal idiosoma (Fig. 26). Marginal and dorsal shields completely separated. Dorsal shield covered by small oval pits and bearing needle-like setae (ca. 33–35 µm), caudal area of central part of dorsal shield elevated above neighbouring shield (Fig. 27), bearing three pairs of setae. Marginal shield with small oval pits, marginal setae longer than dorsal setae (ca. 40–45 µm) (Fig. 29).
Ventral idiosoma (Fig. 28). Sternal area with four pairs of needle-like sternal setae (ca. 6–9 µm) and smooth. Setae St1 inserted near anterior margin of genital shield; St2 at level of anterior margin of coxae III, St3 at level of posterior margin of coxae III and St4 situated near basal margin of genital shield. Surface of sternal shield smooth. Ventral shield covered by irregular pits anterior to metapodal lines, surface of ventral shield posterior to metapodal line with oval pits. Setae anterior to metapodal line needle-like, V1 short (ca. 10 µm), V2 and V3 long (ca. 27–30 µm), V4 short (ca. 10 µm) and situated near central area of metapodal line. Setae associated with metapodal lines apically serrate (ca. 18–20 µm), six pairs of setae posterior to metapodal lines long (ca. 37–40 µm) and needle like. Anal opening small and oval, adanal setae marginally serrate, ad1 short (ca. 8 µm), ad2 long (ca. 15 µm), postanal seta similar in shape and length to needle-like setae posterior to metapodal lines (Fig. 30). Pedofossae shallow with irregular pits on their surface. Genital shield linguliform, situated between coxae II and IV, with a rounded anterior edge and straight posterior edge. Surface of genital shield smooth, without sculptural pattern. Peritremes V-shaped (Fig. 27). Tritosternum (Fig. 31) with vase-shaped base, laciniae divided into four smooth branches, each branch with two short apical spines.
Gnathosoma (Fig. 32). Corniculi small, smooth and horn-like, internal malae short, weakly developed. Labrum visible and apically pilose. Hypostomal setae h1 situated near anterior margin of gnathosoma, long (ca. 38–40 µm), smooth and needle-like. Setae h2 very short (ca. 5 µm), smooth and spine-like, h3 and h4 (ca. 10–12 µm) marginally serrate. Fixed digit of chelicera longer than movable digit, both digits bearing a small tooth. Chelicera without internal sclerotised nodes (Fig. 34). Trochanter of palp bearing one long, smooth and needle-like setae situated on a small protuberance, second seta on palp trochanter short and spine-like. Epistome marginally pilose, apically divided into two branches (Fig. 33).
Legs (Figs 35–38). Leg I without ambulacral claws, all legs bearing needle-like, except tarsi II-IV with some marginally serrate setae.
Male. Length of idiosoma 410 μm, width 300 μm (n = 1). Shape of idiosoma, ornamentation, and chaetotaxy of dorsum as in female. Sternal setae smooth and needle-like (ca. 7–8 µm), St1 absent in single male paratype. St2 situated at level of posterior margin of coxae II, St3 at level of central area of coxae III, St4 at level of anterior margin of genital shield, St5 at level of central area of genital shield. Surface of sternal shield covered by irregular pits. Genital shield oval and situated between coxae IV (Fig. 39). Ventral setae and ornamentation similar to those of female. Leg II with long and robust setae (Fig. 40), other setae on legs similar to legs of female.
Etymology. The name of the new species refers to the continent where it was collected.
description: Published as part of Kontschán, Jenő & Starý, Josef, 2013, New Uropodine mites from Tanzania (Acari: Mesostigmata), pp. 267-279 in Zootaxa 3683 (3) on pages 275-277, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3683.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/219362