Acaromantis monnioti Morselli 1970
Creators: name: Durucan, Furkan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Halacaridae
Acaromantis
Acaromantis monnioti

description: Acaromantis monnioti Morselli, 1970
Figures 2A–K, 6A–C; Table 1
[Acaromantis monnioti Morselli, 1970: 109–119; Figs. 1, 2 & Tav.1]
Material examined. Mites obtained at St. 5 (Kundu, Antalya), well sorted medium grained sand, interstitial water at 20 cm depth on the seashore near the water, 36.849361, 30.839000, 18 Oct. 2018. Deutonymph and two larvae (FDHAL-24/107), undissected and slide mounted; Deutonymph (FDHAL-24/108), undissected and slide mounted; Quiescent larva (FDHAL-24/109), undissected and slide mounted.
Morphology and notes. Deutonymphs. Dorsal and ventral plates covered by foveae. Ds-1 on AD at 0.5 of its total length. OC spindle shaped. Pair of ds-2 and ds-3 on integument between AD and PD, pairs of ds-4 at 0.3 and ds-5 at 0.9 of PD length, respectively. PD longer than AD (AD: PD = 0.8) (Figs. 2A; 6A). AE with two pairs of setae and a pair of epimeral vesicles near insertion of leg II. PE with one dorsal and three ventral setae. GP large almost quadrangular with a pair of genital acetabula and two pairs of setae (Fig. 2B). Gnathosoma globular, as long as wide, 68 long (Fig. 2B). Tibia I long, its base narrow, cylindrical, then rapidly expanding, ending with wide, smooth spine (Fig. 2C). Leg chaetotaxy from trochanter to tarsus (bipectinated setae between parentheses; solenidia, famulus and pas included) (Figs. 2C–F); Leg I: 1, 1, 1, 4(1), 5, 6; Leg II: 1, 1, 2, 4, 5(2), 6; Leg III: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5(2), 6; Leg IV: 1, 1, 1, 3, 5(2), 6.
Larvae. Dorsal plates smaller than deutonymph. Ds-1 on AD, ds-2 to ds-4 on integument. Ds-5 on PD (Figs. 2G; 6B). AE with two pairs of setae and a pair of epimeral vesicles. PE with only one ventral seta and no dorsal setae. Genital plate absent (Fig. 2H). Gnathosoma globular, 65 long and 47 wide (Fig. 2H). Leg chaetotaxy as follows (bipectinated setae between parentheses) (Fig. 2I–K); Leg I: 1, 2, 5, 5(1), 6; Leg II: 1, 3, 4, 5(1), 6; Leg III: 1, 3, 3, 5(2), 6. There is also one more larva specimen which is quiescent pupal stage (Fig. 6C).
Remarks. This species was described by Morselli (1970) from Italy (Livorno) among sand habitats (4 m and 12 m depths) based on adults, nymphs and larva. Although both adults and juveniles were described in detail, only the adults were illustrated and photographed. The present author was reported adult specimens belonging to this species from sand habitat (3 m depth) from Antalya (in Stamouli et al. 2017) and it constituted the second report of this species. In this study, the author illustrated and photographed deutonymph and larva specimens for the first time (Figs. 2A–K; 6A, B). Additionally, a larva specimen in the quiescent pupal stage is presented here (Fig. 6C). The genus Acaromantis Trouessart & Neumann, 1893 comprises 11 named species of which only two species, A. monnioti Morselli, 1970 and A. squilla Trouessart & Neumann, 1893, are known from the Mediterranean Sea. A. monnioti resembles A. squilla. However, the adults of former species distinguished from the latter by not having ventral lamellae on telofemur-I and tibia-I of A. squilla more conical than A. monnioti (Morselli, 1970). Regarding to the comparison of juveniles of the two species, OC reduced to small oblong subcuticular platelet in A. monnioti both deutonmyph and larva while there is no OC of protonymph stage of A. squilla and telofemura I to III have ventral lamellae in A. squilla while telofemura I to III have not ventral lamellae in A. monnioti according to Bartsch (1973).
description: Published as part of Durucan, Furkan, 2025, Contributions to the knowledge of the subfamily Simognathinae (Acari: Halacaridae) of Türkiye, pp. 151-168 in Zootaxa 5570 (1) on page 153, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5570.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/14734721