Crotonia weiri Colloff, 2010, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Colloff, Matthew J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Sarcoptiformes
Crotoniidae
Crotonia
Crotonia weiri

description: Crotonia weiri sp. nov.
(Figs. 9, 18 i, 21)
Dimensions: holotype female length 1137, breadth 561. Paratypes: females (n = 14): mean length 1213 (range 1074–1372); mean breadth 621 (range 506–718); males (n = 16): mean length 1076 (range 1003–1130); mean breadth 532 (range 490–587). Ratio of length of prodorsum to total body length: 0.35 (holotype).
Description of female. Prodorsum: ratio of length to breadth 1.0. Rostrum with squat naso, barely projecting beyond rostrum; lateral edges slightly concave; rostral seta 43, straight, spiniform, smooth (Fig. 9 a). Lamellar seta 243, curved, smooth, flagelliform apically. Lamellar apophyses 108, straight, thin, slightly diverging apically, shorter than their mutual distance by half; extending anteriorly beyond apices of rostral setae. Interlamellar apophyses twice as long as broad; interlamellar seta 335, flagelliform, smooth; extending anteriorly as far as apex of curve of lamellar setae. Prodorsal ridges well-developed, curved medially, extending anteriorly almost a third of the distance between bases of interlamellar and lamellar apophyses. Diameter of bothridium 42; auriculate ridge of bothridium in the form of a complex series of digitate or triangular spines, with a large, blunt, anterior projection; hexagonal reticulations of operculum lacking concentric ridges and with point of origin near lateral margin (Fig. 18 i). Inter-bothridial ridge well-developed, straight, transverse, curved anteriolaterally at margins, with a slight median invagination. Median field of muscle sigilla present. Prodorsal microsculpture smooth, porose.
Notogaster: ratio of length of notogaster to breadth of notogastral shield 1.31; notogastral shield broadest between setae cp and e 2 (Fig. 9 a); ratio of width of shield to entire notogastral width 0.82; lateral margins of shield greatly expanded, sub-circular. Dorsosejugal suture discrete, with single indented ridge. Region posterior of apophyses of setae c 3 slightly concave. Lyrifissure ia short (22), on shallow ridge posteriolateral of apophyses of setae c 3. With 14 pairs of smooth notogastral setae. Pre-notogastral shield separated from notogastral shield by narrow hyaline strip, and bearing well-developed cylindrical apophysis (27 long) of seta c 3 and minute, subequal, setiform setae c 1 and c 2 (11)on posterior margin. Seta c 3 well-developed, long (390), flagelliform apically, extending anteriorly to point midway between bases of interlamellar and lamellar apophyses. Notogastral shield smooth, slightly convex, tapering to U-shape anterior of caudal apophyses; bordered laterally by two narrow strips of small tubercles extending to point between tubercles of setae f 2 and f 1. Lateral hyaline strip (suprapleural scissure) wide, bearing tubercles of short, setiform, setae cp (94) and e 2 (70). Seta d 2 thin, short (56), setiform; mutual distance (81) a third greater than that between setae c 2. Seta f 2 short (89), recurved, each on squat tubercle barely projecting from margin of notogastral shield. Opisthosomal gland opening gla positioned anteriomedial of setae f 2. Caudal apophyses short, clustered, projecting directly from posterior notogastral shield, not on stalk; those of h 2 short (44), more-or-less parallel, caudal margin between them transverse. Apophysis of h 1 (30) emerging dorsolaterally from base of that of h 2; apophysis of f 1 (16) projecting posteriolaterally; the base not closely associated with that of h 1. Apophysis of seta h 3 positioned between h 1 and f 1 ventrally; seta h 3 thin, setiform, curved. Other caudal setae short, thick, straight, semi-spiniform; f 1 46, h 1 67, h 2 71. Caudal region of dorsal notogastral plate with small, sparse tubercles, extending onto lateral plates.
Ven ter: epimeral microsculpture smooth, porose (Fig. 9 b); epimeral setae smooth, thin, spiniform, very short, ca. 8–15, formula 3-1-3-3; seta 3c longer and stouter than others (24) on well-developed tubercle. Epimeral plates I with sharp, horn-like projections posteriolaterally. With lcs broad, curved, forming a broad obtuse angle (ca. 140°) with pcs. Anteriolateral margin of adanal plate with a broad, shallow indentation. Genital plates sub-circular; posterior margin transverse. Perigenital region strongly and densely tuberculate. Each genital plate 198 long, 118 broad, with eight setiform setae, subequal in length (30); two pairs of aggenital setae, subequal in length to epimeral setae. Anal plate narrow (41 broad), 251 long, with three very short (10) setae on posterior region of plate; three pairs of spiniform adanal setae, ad 2-3 slightly shorter than spiniform ad 1 (29); distance between ad series subequal. Ventral margin of notogaster surrounding anal plates curved, U-shaped. Setae of p series curved, setiform, p 1 very short, 15, p 2 30, p 3 43. Tubercles of p 1 squat, separated by distance at least four times their length.
Lateral view: Caudal margin inflated, rounded, contiguous with notogastral shield (Fig. 9 c); dorsal and ventral surfaces convex, not parallel, distance between them ca. 660 perpendicular of seta e 2, narrowing anteriorly. Apophysis of seta f 1 pointing dorsally, those of h 1 pointing posteriodorsally, those of h 2 only slightly longer than those of h 1, positioned ventral of them; those of h 3 positioned ventral of h 2, pointing ventrolaterally. Caudal cluster positioned below level of notogastral shield. Apophyses of setae of p series equidistantly spaced. Pleuraspis with sparse tubercles.
Material examined. Holotype female, litter and moss under Nothofagus moorei, Mount Bithongabel, Lamington National Park, Queensland, ANIC 654, 28°15'46"S, 153°10'17"E, 1190 m., coll. T. Weir & J. Lawrence, 23.x.1978. Paratype female, QM S26049, brushings from sticks, rainforest, Mount Bithongabel, Lamington National Park, Queensland, 28°16'S 153°10'E, coll. G.B. Monteith, 8.x.1979. Paratypes: 13 females, 16 males, QM S26069, litter, Mount Hobwee, Lamington National Park, Queensland, 28°12'S 153°10'E. Paratype female, QM S26073, pitfall trap, simple notophyll vine forest, Nagarigoon, Lamington National Park, Queensland, 28°12'S 153°10'E, coll. R.J. Raven & V.T. Davies, 30.iii.–4.iv.1976. Holotype and paratypes deposited in the Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
Etymology. This species is named in honour of my colleague Tom Weir (Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences), in recognition of his contribution to Australian entomology.
Remarks. Crotonia weiri differs from all other Crotonia spp. by the following combination of characters: 1) the expanded, sub-circular opisthosoma; 2) the short caudal apophyses with those of seta h 2 only slightly longer than those of h 1; 3) the short, smooth, spiniform caudal setae; 4) the very short epimeral, anal and p 1 setae; 5) the minute setae c 1 and c 2 positioned close together; 6) the considerable depth of the opisthosoma in lateral view; 7) the lateral ridge of the bothridium with a series of digitate and triangular spines and a large, blunt, anterior projection.
Crotonia weiri is most similar to C. daviesae in the morphology of the prodorsum and its structures; the inflated opisthosoma narrowing anteriorly in lateral view; the relative lengths of setae c 3, cp, e 2 and f 2 and the projections on epimeral plates I. It is also similar to C. yeatesi sp. nov. in these characters as well as the morphology and relative lengths of setae d 2 and the caudal apophyses and their setae. Other than the characters mentioned in the diagnosis, C. weiri differs from C. daviesae in having setae f 2 on tubercles rather than on apophyses that project beyond the margin of the notogaster, in the more restricted tuberculate microsculpture, the positioning of the anal setae on the posterior half of the anal plate, in the short setae of the p series and the lateral regions of the notogastral plate bearing a narrower tuberculate strip. Crotonia weiri differs from C. yeatesi in having much longer setae c 2, smooth reflexed setae f 2 lacking projecting apophyses, short setae p 1 and a more rounded notogastral shield.
description: Published as part of Colloff, Matthew J., 2010, The Gondwanan relict oribatid genus Crotonia (Acari: Oribatida: Crotoniidae) from rainforests in Queensland and Northern New South Wales: new species show a mixed pattern of short-range and long-range endemism, pp. 1-51 in Zootaxa 2649 on pages 25-27, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.198744