Zercon kosovina Kontschán, 2006, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kontschán, Jenõ
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Blattisociidae
Zercon
Zercon kosovina

description: Zercon kosovina sp. nov. (Figs. 1–8)
Material examined: Holotype: female: Serbia­Montenegro, Kosovo, Bjeluhe, near the road to Čakor­pass (1250 m a.s.l.), beech forest, from litter, 12 October 2005. leg. T. Deli, Z. P. Erőss, Z. Fehér and D. Murányi. Paratypes: 2 females: date and locality as for holotype.
Diagnosis: The longitudinal distance between I1 and I2 is very long, and between I2 and I3 very short. Setae I4 are situated near I5 on the opisthonotal shield. I1 and I2 setae are very short; I3, I4 and I5 are long.
Description: Female, 410–415 μm in length, 365–370 μm wide (n = 3).
Dorsum. (Figs 1–3): Podonotal row i with six pairs of setae, row s with six pairs, row z with two pairs, row r with six pairs. Setae i1 distinctly barbed, other setae in row i, z and r smooth and needle­like.
Opisthonotal row I with six pairs of setae, Z with five pairs, S with four pairs and R with seven pairs. Setae I1 and I2 very short, smooth and needle­like, I3, I4 and I5 long, and setiform, with finely serrated margins (Figs 3–4). Setae I6 are long, setiform and distinctly barbed (Fig. 5).
Setae Z1 and Z2 short, smooth and needle­like, Z3 and Z4 long, smooth and setiform. Setae Z5 are similar to Z1 and Z2. S1, S2 and S3 shorter than S4, but longer than Z1 and Z2. S4 long, setiform and distinctly barbed. All R setae with finely serrated margins; R7 shorter than the other R setae. All opisthonotal setae situated on small protuberances. Lengths of the opisthonotal setae and longitudinal distances between their bases as in Table 1.
Podonotal pores po1 lie near to S1. Pores po2 situated in line or slightly outside the line connecting setae i4 and s4, pores po3 slightly outside the line connecting setae z1 and s5. Opisthonotal pores Po1 situated anteroantiaxial to insertion of setae Z1, Po2 near setae Z2, Po3 on anterior part of dorsal fossae. Po4 situated near to setae S4.
Podonotum covered with irregular tile­like pattern (Fig. 6). Opisthonotum bears irregular tile­like ornamentation on the anterio­lateral part (Fig. 7). Posterior part of opisthonotum (behind S4 and I5 setae) is without any pattern.
Tectum: typical for the genus.
Ventral idiosoma (Fig. 8.): Chaetotaxy and shape of peritremal shields typical of the genus Zercon. Anterior margin of the ventri­anal shield provided with two setae.
Etymology: The name of the new species refers to the country of its origin.
Remarks: The new species is similar to Zercon baloghi Sellnick, 1958 but differs from it in the following ways: the longitudinal distance between I1 and I2 is very large, and between I2 and I3 is very short, while in Zercon baloghi the longitudinal distance between I1 and I2 is as long as the distance between I2 and I3. Setae I4 are beside I5, but in Zercon baloghi setae I5 are behind I4. The new species is also similar to the Zercon tematinensis Mašán & Fenda, 2004: which has a large longitudinal distance between I1 and I2, and short longitudinal distance between I2 and I3. These features are similar to the new species, but setae I5 of Zercon tematinensis are behind I4, while they are in line with I 4 in the new species.
description: Published as part of Kontschán, Jenõ, 2006, Some zerconid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata: Zerconidae) from Kosovo (Serbia­Montenegro) with description of Zercon kosovina sp. nov., pp. 47-53 in Zootaxa 1276 on pages 49-51, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.173330