Taintaturus selwynus Pesic & Smit, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pesic, Vladimir
name: Smit, Harry
name: Datry, Thibault
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Aturidae
Taintaturus
Taintaturus selwynus

description: Taintaturus selwynus Pesic & Smit sp. nov.
(Fig. 2B, 6A–F, 7A–C)
Type material. Holotype: male dissected and slide mounted in Hoyer's fluid. New Zealand, South Island: Selwyn River near Old Bridge, riffle, 04.vi.2004. Paratypes: 0/1/0, same location as holotype, 08.vii.2004; 0/ 1/0 (mounted), same location as holotype, 10.ix.2004; 1/0/0 (mounted), Selwyn River near Rayvell Farm, 08.vii.2007; 0/1/0 (damaged, dorsal shield and legs missing, mounted), Selwyn River near Rayvell Farm, 22.xi.2004; 1/0/0, Selwyn River near Chamberlain's Ford, 23.v.2005; 0/1/0 (damaged, palps and legs missing), Selwyn River near Ridgens, riffle, 20.viii.2004.
Diagnosis. Surface of dorsal sclerites smooth; ventral margin of P-2 with a rounded extension, with irregularly rugose surface, P-3 distoventrally with a pointed projection.
Description. Male (holotype, in parentheses some measurements of paratype). Integumental pigment absent; eye pigment reduced; surface of sclerites smooth (as shown in Fig. 2B); dorsal shield (Fig. 6A) L 316 (319), W 275 (281); anteromedial plate L 144 (152), W 188 (195); anterolateral platelets bearing a pair of glandularia; a pair of small glandularia lying free in the integument between anterolateral and posterolateral platelets; posteromedial plate bearing two pairs of glandularia; anterodorsal portion of ventral shield forming a pointed hood-like projection extending beyond anterior margin of first and second coxae (Fig. 6C); ventral shield (Fig. 6B) L 405 (425), W 375 (343); tips of first, second and third coxae somewhat pointed and with well developed intercoxal slots; projections associated with insertions of IV-L broad and somewhat truncate; a well developed ridge on each side extending posterolaterally from region of insertion of IV-L; a pair of apophyses and a pair of glandularia located immediately medial to insertions of IV-L; gonopore terminal, L (31); genital acetabula numerous; ejaculatory complex L (71); palp (Fig. 6 D-E): total L 159, dL: P-1, 24; P-2, 40 (41); P-3, 24 (25); P-4, 49 (52); P-5, 22 (22); %L: P-1, 15.1; P-2, 25.2; P-3, 15.1; P-4, 30.8; P-5, 13.8; ventral margin of P-2 with a rounded extension, with irregularly rugose surface; P-3 distoventrally with a pointed projection; capitulum ventral L (71); dL of IV-L: 49 (50), 78 (83), 38 (36), 59 (60), 62 (62), 66 (68); maximum H of IV-L-2, (49); IV-L-2 L/H ratio, (1.69); chaetotaxy of IV-L as illustrated in Fig. 6F; swimming hairs absent.
Female. Similar to male except for genital field (Fig. 7A); dorsal shield L 327, W 298; anteromedial plate L 152, W 198; ventral shield L 430, W 344; capitular bay L 109; gonopore terminal, L 113, W 72; palp (Fig. 7B): total L 163, dL and %L (in parentheses): P-1, 23 (14.1); P-2, 42 (25.8); P-3, 23 (14.1); P-4, 53 (32.5); P- 5, 22 (13.5); dorsal L of IV-L-2-6: 84, 35, 57, 62, 68; maximum H of IV-L-2, 50; IV-L-2 L/H ratio, 1.68. Etymology. The species is named after the type locality, the Selwyn River.
Remarks. Due to the combination of relatively wide anteromedial (L/W ratio, 0.77–0.78) and posteromedial (L/W ratio, 0.98) plates of the dorsal shield, a smooth surface of dorsal sclerites, the coxae projecting far beyond the pointed dorsomedial projection of the ventral shield, and P-2 and -3 bearing ventral projections, the new species resembles Taintaturus livingstoni Cook, 1991, known from driven wells in the vicinity of Nelson (South Island, New Zealand). Taintaturus selwynus can be easily distinguished from T. livingstoni in the rounded ventrodistal projection of P-2 with irregularly rugose surface vs. P-2 with a pointed projection near middle of ventral side in T. livingstoni (see: Cook 1991).
Ecology. The studied material was collected from June to December, from ephemeral-losing (Ridgens), intermittent-gaining (Rayvell Farm) and the perennial-gaining (Old Bridge and Chamberlain's Ford) reaches of the river.
description: Published as part of Pesic, Vladimir, Smit, Harry & Datry, Thibault, 2010, Water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the hyporheic waters of the Selwyn River (New Zealand), with descriptions of nine new species, pp. 1-34 in Zootaxa 2355 on pages 8-10, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.193562