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

description: Crotonia maculata sp. nov.
(Figs. 4, 18 d, 21)
Dimensions: holotype female length 1130, breadth 506. Paratypes: females (n = 8): mean length 1167 (range 1060–1352); mean breadth 543 (range 482–648); males (n = 11): mean length 945 (range 885–1066); mean breadth 437 (range 395–498). Ratio of length of prodorsum to total body length: 0.33 (holotype).
Description of female. Prodorsum: ratio of length to breadth 1.09. Rostrum with prominent naso, projecting well beyond rostrum; lateral edges parallel; rostral seta 45, straight, spiniform, smooth (Fig. 4 a). Lamellar seta 258, recurved, smooth, flagelliform apically. Lamellar apophyses 120, straight, thin, parallel, shorter than their mutual distance by a quarter; extending anteriorly as far as apices of rostral setae. Interlamellar apophyses twice as long as broad; interlamellar seta 345, flagelliform, smooth; extending anteriorly as far as apex of curve of lamellar setae. Prodorsal ridges well-developed, curved medially, extending anteriorly almost half of the distance between bases of interlamellar and lamellar apophyses. Diameter of bothridium 47; auriculate bothridial ridge broad, D-shaped; hexagonal reticulations of operculum smooth and with point of origin near lateral margin (Fig. 18 d). 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 1.6; notogastral shield broadest at level of bases of setae e 2 (Fig. 4 a); ratio of width of shield to entire notogastral width 0.76; lateral margins of notogastral shield expanded, oval. Dorsosejugal suture discrete, with single ridge. Region posterior of apophysis of seta c 3 slightly concave. Lyrifissure ia long (40), located on shallow ridge extending posteriolaterally of apophyses of setae c 3. With 14 pairs of smooth notogastral setae. Pre-notogastral shield separated from notogastral shield by broad transverse hyaline strip, and bearing short cylindrical apophyses (26 long) of setae c 3 and tubercles of setiform setae c 1 and c 2 on posterior margin. Seta c 3 long, 348, c 1 and c 2 thin, setiform, 74 and 206 respectively; c 2 extending anteriorly as far as apophysis of interlamellar seta. Notogastral shield slightly convex, tapering to U-shape anterior of caudal apophyses; bordered anteriorly and laterally broad strips of dense maculae, surrounded by porose cuticle, extending posteriorly as far as caudal apophyses; centrodorsal region smooth, porose. Lateral hyaline strip (suprapleural scissure) wide, bearing tubercles of setae cp (135), e 2 (185) and recurved f 2 (53). Seta d 2 thin, 61, setiform; mutual distance (158) slightly greater than that between setae c 2. Seta f 2 on squat tubercle not projecting from margin of notogastral shield. Opisthosomal gland opening gla positioned anteriomedial of seta f 2. Caudal apophyses on short, narrow stalk, projecting posteriorly from caudal margin. Caudal apophyses bi-lobed, those of h 2 very long (203), close together, diverging and slightly inflated apically. Apophysis of h 1 (32) emerging dorsolaterally from base of that of h 2; apophysis of f 1 (40) curving dorsolaterally. Apophysis of seta h 3 positioned between h 1 and f 1 ventrally. Caudal setae smooth, thin, recurved, f 1 95, h 1 80, h 2 92, h 3 68.
Ve n te r: epimeral microsculpture smooth, porose (Fig. 4 b); epimeral setae smooth, spiniform, subequal in length (ca. 15–20), formula 3-1-3-3; seta 3c on well-developed tubercle. With lcs broad, curved, forming a strongly obtuse angle (ca. 140°) with pcs. Anteriolateral margin of adanal plate with slight indentation. Genital plates sub-circular; posterior margin transverse, posteriolateral margins straight. Perigenital region densely tuberculate. Each genital plate 168 long, 89 broad, with eight setiform setae, subequal in length (35) with bacilliform cerotegument; two pairs of aggenital setae, subequal in length to genital setae. Anal plate 52 broad, 249 long, with three short (28) setae on central and posterior region; three pairs of spiniform adanal setae, subequal in length (47). Ventral margin of notogaster surrounding anal plates acutely V-shaped. Setae p 2 and p 3 curved, setiform, subequal in length (66), p 1 longer, flagelliform apically, 113, tubercles of p 1 cylindrical, well-developed, adjacent.
Lateral view: Caudal margin almost perpendicular to notogastral shield (Fig. 4 c); dorsal surface arched, convex; distance between dorsal and ventral surface at level of seta e 2 ca. 430. Caudal stalk slender in lateral view, extending to level the same as or slightly below posterior notogastral shield. Apophysis of seta f 1 and h 1 pointing dorsolaterally, those of h 2 prominent, horizontal, pointing posteriorly; those of h 3 positioned ventral of h 1, pointing lateroventrally. Apophysis of flagelliform seta p 1 on caudal region one third of the distance from the ventral to the dorsal surface; setae of p series positioned equidistantly. Pleuraspis smooth, porose.
Material examined. Holotype female, QM S26066, sieved litter, rainforest, 5 km east of Benarkin, Blackbutt Range, Queensland, 26°52'S 152°11'E, ca. 350 m., coll. G. Thompson & J. Gallon, 30.iii.1983. Paratype female, QM S26050, sieved litter, rainforest, Devils Thumb, 10 km north west of Mossman, Queensland, 16°23'S 145°17'E, ca. 950 m., coll. G.B. Monteith, D.K. Yeates & G. Thompson, 9.x.1982. Paratypes: four females, two males, QM S26061, litter, rainforest, Mount Glorious, Queensland, 27°20'S 152°46'E, ca. 570 m., coll. V.T. Davies, 7–20.vi.1974. Four paratype males, QM S26065, litter, rainforest, Booloumba Creek, Conondale Range, Queensland, 26°39'S 152°39'E, ca. 300 m., coll. R.J. Raven, 13– 18.v.1976. Paratype female, ANIC 462, litter, rainforest, Mount Lewis, Queensland, 16°33'5"S, 145°16'23"E, 970 m., coll. R.W. Taylor, 29.iv.1973. Paratypes: five males, two females, ANIC 560, litter, rainforest, Broken River, Eungella National Park, 21°10’S 148°31’E, 700 m., coll. R.W. Taylor & T.A. Weir, 10–12.xi.1976. Holotype and paratypes from QM samples deposited in the Queensland Museum, Brisbane; paratypes from ANIC samples deposited in the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Canberra.
Etymology. The specific name maculata refers to the pattern of macules or plaques on the notogastral shield.
Remarks. Crotonia maculata differs from all other Crotonia spp. by the following combination of characters: 1) notogastral shield with pattern of maculae laterally; 2) setae d 2 well-developed; 3) long flagelliform setae c 3, slightly shorter setae c 2 and setae c 1 shorter still, subequal in length to setae d 2; 4) prodorsum smooth, porose; 5) caudal apophyses on stalk, positioned horizontally level with posterior part of notogastral shield; 6) notogaster arched, convex in lateral view.) apophyses of h 2 diverging apically; 7) setae le, f 1 and h series smooth; 8) pleuraspis smooth, porose in lateral view; 9) setae p 1 flagelliform on welldeveloped, adjacent apophyses.
Crotonia maculata is morphologically most similar to Crotonia brisbanensis (see remarks section of C. brisbanensis above) and Crotonia capistrata Luxton, 1987. It differs from them in having setae d 2 present and by the long flagelliform setae c 3, slightly shorter setae c 2 and short setae c 1. It differs from C. capistrata in having smooth rather than barbed caudal setae and lacking a narrow lateral zone of tubercles on the notogastral plate. Also, C. capistrata has dense tubercles on the pleuraspis and prodorsum posterior of the bothridium, whereas these zones are smooth in C. maculata sp. nov.
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 12-14, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.198744