Laelaps mazzai Fonseca 1939
Creators: name: Espinoza-Carniglia, Mario
name: Lareschi, Marcela
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Laelapidae
Laelaps
Laelaps mazzai

description: Description of the deutonymph of Laelaps mazzai
(Figs. 1–3)
Specimens studied – 12 deutonymphs (CNP6806-12, CG1021-3, CG1021-7, CG1028-2, CG1028-3, CG1028-4, CG1028-5, CG1031-2, CG1031-3, CG1031-4, CG1031-5, CG1031-6).
Dorsum (Fig. 1a) – Dorsal shield less sclerotized than females and males. Chaetotaxy similar to adults, with setae more numerous principally at the anterior third of the dorsal shield, gathered in three groups, one in the middle and two laterals. Dorsal shield reticulated, covering almost the 90% of the idiosoma, about 1.5 longer (532 [527–539]) than wide (338 [319–347]), with undulated anterior margins, corresponding to the widening of the shoulders of the idiosoma; lateral margins with well-developed lateral incisions at the level of connection of the podonotal and opisthonotal shields. Posterior lateral margins converging with the almost straight posterior margin of the dorsal shield.
Venter (Fig. 1b) – Reticulated sternogenital shield 295 [286–305] in length; with anterior margin rounded, four pairs of setae present, with the third pair longer (st.3 = 89 [80–95]) than the first (st.1 = 61 [56–66]), second (st.2 = 83 [75–88]), and the fourth pair (st.4. = 77 [75–81]). Posterior margin of the sternogenital shield convex. Well-developed peritremes, peritrematic shield well sclerotized, not extending posterior to stigma, terminating at the level of the lateral margin of the coxae II. Chaetotaxy in opisthogaster and anal shield similar to that the females and males, with about 25 pair of setae.
Gnathosoma (Figs. 2a, b) – Gnathosoma as in females. Hypognathal groove (hyg.gr) with six rows of hypognathal denticles (hyg.dent.), tristosternum (tr.) very transparent and hardly visible. Posterior hypostomal seta (hyp.3 = 25 [22–27]) and palpcoxal seta (pcx.s. = 25 [24–26]) of similar lenght. Pilus dentilis (p.d. = 11 [10–12]) setiform.
Legs (Figs. 1b, 3) – Chaetotaxy of the legs similar as in females and males, with proximal (pscI = 45 [43–48]) and distal (dscI = 25 [23–26]) setae of coxa I, posterior seta of coxa II (pscII = 39 [39– 40]), and seta of coxa IV (scIV = 26 [25–27]) all of them setiform. Posterior seta of coxa III spiniform (pscIII = 26 [25–27]). Femur I (FI) with one long dorsoapical seta (66 [63–69]) and Genu I (GI) with two prominent dorsoproximal setae (77 [70–85] and 41 [40–42]).
Within Laelaps, out of about 30 species known, only the deutonymphs of the following species were previously described: Laelaps agilis Koch, 1836, Laelaps echidnina (Berlese, 1887), Laelaps flexa Furman, 1972, Laelaps galliarii Savchenko & Lareschi, 2022, Laelaps horaki Matthee & Ueckermann, 2009, Laelaps nuttalli Hirst, 1915 (Hirst 1914; Furman 1972b; Edler and Solomon 1979; Savchenko and Lareschi 2022). The deutonymph of L. mazzai described here differs from the others already described by the dorsal chaetotaxy. The hypertrichous state and the arrangement of setae in the dorsal shield, as well as the chaetotaxy of the coxae are identical to those in the females and males of L. mazzai. These features also distinguish L. mazzai from the other hypertrichous species, such as Laelaps navasi Fonseca, 1939, Laelaps surcomata Furman, 1972, and Laelaps valdevinoi Gettinger, 1992. The results presented here contribute to the knowledge of laelapids from the Neotropics.
description: Published as part of Espinoza-Carniglia, Mario & Lareschi, Marcela, 2023, First description of the deutonymphal stage of Laelaps mazzai (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae), pp. 151-155 in Persian Journal of Acarology 12 (1) on pages 152-153, DOI: 10.22073/pja.v12i1.77754, http://zenodo.org/record/10270127