Hypoaspisella bernhardi Joharchi & Halliday & Khaustov & Ermilov 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Joharchi, Omid
name: Halliday, Bruce
name: Khaustov, Alexander A.
name: Ermilov, Sergey G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Laelapidae
Hypoaspisella
Hypoaspisella bernhardi

description: Hypoaspisella bernhardi sp. nov.
(Figs 18–32)
Type material: Holotype, female, Tanzania, Zanzibar, forest litter, 06°16'S, 039°25' E, 8 m. a.s.l., 2 February 2018, coll. S.G. Ermilov, A.A. Khaustov (in TUMZ); paratypes: 14 females, same data as holotype (10 in TUMZ, 4 in ANIC).
Description. Female (n= 15 specimens).
Dorsal idiosoma (Figs 18, 28). Dorsal shield (length 581–605, width 387–382) well sclerotised, with distinct reticulate ornamentation over whole surface, shield bearing 41 pairs of smooth, subequal and moderately long setae (44–53) except j1, z1 and Z5 shorter (23–27); 22 pairs on podonotal region (j1–6; z1–6; s1–6; r2–5) and 19 pairs on opisthonotal region (J1–5; Z1–5; S1–5; and four pairs of Zx setae), opisthonotal region with two or three unpaired supernumerary seta Jx in each specimen.
Dorsal shield with 22 pairs of discernible pore-like structures, six on podonotum (id1, id2, id4, id5, gd2, gd5, see Fig. 18) and 16 on opisthonotum (idm1–idm6, idx, is1, idl1–idl4, gd8, gd9, see Fig. 1).Four to five pairs of setae in R series on the lateral soft skin surrounding the shield.
Ventral idiosoma (Figs 19, 29). Tritosternum with a pair of sparsely pilose laciniae (71–79), narrow columnar base 21–24 long 7–9 wide; presternal area strongly sclerotised, with conspicuous transverse lines. Sternal shield (length 114–118) narrowest between coxae II (92–94), widest between coxa II–III (156–159), with almost straight posterior margin, but slightly convex in some specimens; with three pairs of simple long sternal setae, reaching base of next posterior seta, st1 (43–45), st2 (48–52), st3 (39–43), and two pairs of poroids (iv1 slit-like and iv2 suboval, adjacent to setae st1 and between st2 and st3, respectively), anterolateral corners of the shield not extend between coxae I/II and merged with endopodal elements between coxae III/IV, almost all surface of the shield reticulated with polygonal cells and lineate patterns (Figs 19, 29); lateral margins alongside coxa II–III fused with endopodal plates. Metasternal platelets absent, one pair of simple metasternal setae st4 (40–45) and pore-like iv3 inserted on soft cuticle posterior to sternal shield; endopodal plates III/IV elongate, narrow, curved and free from sternal shield. Genital shield elongate, broadened and rounded posteriorly, width 158–162 and length 263–277; surface reticulated with irregular longitudinal lines in anterior half and enclosing eight granulated polygonal cells in posterior half (see Figs 19, 29), genital setae st 5 (45–50) smooth, on edges of shield. Paragenital poroids (iv5) located on soft cuticle lateral to shield near st 5. Anal shield subtriangular, length 97–101, width 110–118, bearing three smooth and simple circumanal setae, post-anal seta (22–25) longer than para-anal setae (18–22), its anterior half with lineate ornamentation and a pair of lateral pores (gv3); cribrum small, without lateral projections. Soft opisthogastric cuticle surrounding genital and anal shields with one pair of sub-oval metapodal plates (47–52 long 10–12 wide), ten pairs of setae (Jv1–Jv5, Zv1–Zv 5) and three pairs of discernible pore-like structures including iv3 and iv5; all setae uniform in length (39–45) and thickness. Peritreme long, extending to mid-level of coxa I (Figs 19, 29), peritrematal shield narrow, free from exopodal shields, each shield bearing four discernible pore-like structures, a gland pore gp at level of coxa III, two poroids ip and a gland pore gp on post-stigmatic section and anterior part of shield fused with dorsal shield.
Gnathosoma (Figs 20–23, 30–32). Hypostome with three pairs of hypostomal setae [h1 (35–38), h2 (20–23), h3 (52–58)] and a pair of palpcoxal setae (pc) (41–44). Deutosternal groove narrow, with six transverse rows of 5– 7 denticles, corniculi horn-like and parallel to each other, almost reaching mid-level of palp femur (Figs 20, 30). Palp chaetotaxy normal: trochanter 2, femur 5, genu 6, tibia 14, tarsus 15, all setae smooth and needle-like except al on femur and al1 and al2 on palp genu thickened and apically spatulate; palp tarsal tarsal claw two-tined (Fig. 22). Internal malae with a pair of pointed lobes, laterally coarsely fimbriate; labrum with spiculate surface. Anterior edge of epistome arch-shaped and smooth (Figs 21, 31). Fixed digit of chelicera with four teeth of various sizes and a setaceous pilus dentilis, dorsal cheliceral seta short and robust. Arthrodial brush present at base of movable digit, movable digit with two teeth and distinct cheliceral lyrifissure (Figs 23, 32).
Legs (Figs 24–27). Legs II (342–368) and III (326–341) shorter than legs I (460–477) and IV (455–487). Chaetotaxy normal for free-living Laelapidae: Leg I (Fig. 24): coxa 0 0/1 0/1 0, trochanter 1 0/2 1/1 1, femur 2 2/1 3/3 2, genu 2 3/2 3/1 2, tibia 2 3/2 3/1 2. Leg II (Fig. 25): coxa 0 0/1 0/1 0, trochanter 1 0/1 1/2 1, femur 2 3/1 2/2 1, genu 2 3/1 2/1 2, tibia 2 2/1 2/1 2. Leg III (Fig. 26): coxa 0 0/1 0/ 1 0, trochanter 1 1/1 0/1 1, femur 1 2/1 1/1 1, genu 2 2/1 2/1 1, tibia 2 1/1 2/1 1. Leg IV (Fig. 27): coxa 0 0/1 0/0 0, trochanter 1 1/1 0/1 1, femur 1 2/0 1/1 1, genu 2 2/ 1 3/0 1, tibia 1 2/1 3/1 2. All setae fine and needle-like. Tarsi II–IV with 18 setae 3 3/2 3/2 3 + mv, md, all setae simple and needle-like; all pre-tarsi with a well-developed ambulacral stalk, a pair of claws and three rounded pulvillar lobes, extensively projecting beyond claws.
Insemination structures: Not seen, apparently unsclerotised.
Male. Unknown.
Etymology. This species is named in honour of Friedrich Bernhard, who described the genus Hypoaspisella.
Differential diagnosis. Hypoaspisella bernhardi can be easily distinguished from any other Hypoaspisella species by the following characters: (1) dorsal shield bearing 41 pairs of setae (four pairs of Zx setae) (2) long sternal setae, reaching base of next posterior setae; (3) genital shield elongated, broadened and surface reticulated with irregular longitudinal lines in anterior and enclosing eight granulated polygonal cells in the posterior part.
description: Published as part of Joharchi, Omid, Halliday, Bruce, Khaustov, Alexander A. & Ermilov, Sergey G., 2018, Some soil-inhabiting mites from Zanzibar (Acari: Laelapidae), pp. 23-40 in Zootaxa 4514 (1) on pages 28-29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4514.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/2605788