Acrotritia paraardua Niedbała & Starý 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Niedbała, Wojciech
name: Starý, Josef
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Sarcoptiformes
Euphthiracaridae
Acrotritia
Acrotritia paraardua

description: Acrotritia paraardua sp. nov.
(Figure 2)
Material examined
Holotype deposited at DATE from the locus typicus: MAG-111, Madagascar, Reservation Expérimentale de Vohimana, 27 November 2011, 18°55 ′ 13.7 ″ S, 48°30 ′ 50.8 ″ E, 776 m asl, sifting of forest litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L. S. Rahanitriniaina, and P. Baňař, one paratype deposited at DATE from the locality: MAG-111, Madagascar, Reservation Expérimentale de Vohimana, 27 November 2011, 18°55 ′ 13.7 ″ S, 48°30 ′ 50.8 ″ E, 776m asl, sifting of forest litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina, and P. Baňař, one paratype deposited at DATE from the locality: MAG-089, Madagascar, Ambohitantely Special Reserve, 17 November 2011, 18°11 ′ 42.9 ″ S, 47°17 ′ 20.3 ″ E, 1640 m asl, sifting of forest litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina, one paratype deposited at ISB from the locality: MAG-114, Madagascar, Andasibe National Park, 2–5 May 2011, sifting of leaf litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina, one paratype deposited at NHMG from the locality: MAG-132, Madagascar, Ambohitantely Special Reserve, 3 September 2011, 18°10 ′ 58.3 ″ S, 47° 17 ′ 22.2 ″ E, 1518 m asl, under palm tree near waterfall, sifting of leaf litter sample, Winkler apparatus extraction, leg. L.S. Rahanitriniaina.
Measurements of holotype
Prodorsum: length 260, width 190, height 114, sensillus 76, length of prodorsal setae: interlamellar (in) 119, lamellar (le) 71, rostral (ro) 66, exobothridial (ex) 13; notogaster: length 494, width 338, height 369, length of notogastral setae: c 1, h 1 and p 1 81; genitoaggenital plate 172 × 81, anoadanal plate 227 × 76.
Description
Colour light brown. Integument finely punctate.
Prodorsum with single, distinct, long lateral carinae. Sensilli with narrow pedicel and clavate head covered with small spines. Prodorsal setae: interlamellar (in) and lamellar (le) setae similar to notogastral setae, stout, covered with small spines in distal half; rostral (ro) setae fairly short, rough; exobothridial (ex) setae minute.
Notogaster with moderately long notogastral setae stout, covered with small spines in distal half. Setae c 1 shorter than distance between setae c 1 and d 1, setae c remote from anterior margin of notogaster, setae c 2 more removed than setae c 1 and c 3. Openings of lateral-opisthosomal gland (gla), lyrifissures and vestigial setae present and positioned typically.
Ventral region. Infracapitulum as for superfamily Euphthiracaroidea. Setae h of mentum longer than their mutual distance. Genitogenital plates with nine pairs of genital setae; all genital setae situated posteriorly of progenital area; two aggenital setae situated slightly obliquely. Anal plates with two pairs of setae. Anodanal plates with three pairs of stout adanal setae; anal setae an 1 and an 2 shorter, smooth, anal setae an 3 minute. Lyrifissures iad situated anteriorly from adanal setae ad 3.
Leg chaetome (tarsi not examined): I: 1-3-5(2)-5(1), II: 1-4-3(1)-4(1), III: 2-2-2(1)- 3(1), IV: 2-1-2(0)-3(1). Tarsi of leg I bidactylous, tarsi II–IV tridactylous, all tarsi heterotridactylous.
Etymology
The prefix ‘ para ’ is Latin meaning ‘near’ and refers to the similarity the new species with Acrotritia ardua (C. L. Koch 1841).
Comparison
The new species is similar to A. ardua (C. L. Koch 1841) by the presence of simple, distinct lateral carinae of prodorsum and bidactylous tarsi I and tridactylous tarsi II–IV, but differs by the presence of a clavate head of sensillum (versus fusiform head), the presence of all genital setae outside the progenital area (versus setae g 1 in the progenital position) and by different chaetotaxy of the legs. Another two Acrotritia species have simple lateral carinae of the prodorsum, clavate sensilli and bidactylous tarsi I and tridactylous tarsi II–IV. However, Acrotritia dinota (Niedbała et Schatz, 1996) from Belize and the Galapagos islands has genital setae g 1 situated in a progenital position and Acrotritia munita Niedbała, 2006 from South Africa also has genital setae g 1 situated in a progenital position (Koch 1841; Niedbała and Schatz 1996; Niedbała 2006).
description: Published as part of Niedbała, Wojciech & Starý, Josef, 2014, New species of the superfamily Euphthiracaroidea (Acari: Oribatida) from Madagascar and Tanzania, pp. 1689-1702 in Journal of Natural History 49 (27) on pages 1692-1694, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2014.976670, http://zenodo.org/record/4006400