Iphidozercon Berlese
Creators: name: De Moraes, Gilberto J.
name: Britto, Erika P. J.
name: Mineiro, Jefferson L. De C.
name: Halliday, Bruce
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Ascidae
Iphidozercon

description: Iphidozercon Berlese
FEMALE
Gnathosoma. Anterior margin of epistome with three projections, each denticulate distally and/or laterally. Ratios of lengths of hypostomatic and pc setae variable, h1 usually the longest (h3 the longest in I. reticulatus Ishikawa) and h2 the shortest; insertion of h2 usually in transverse line or slightly anterior or posterior to insertion of h3 (well posterior in I. walteri Gwiazdowicz & Halliday). Inner palp trochanter seta somewhat elongate. Deutosternum very wide, without delimiting lateral lines (with delimiting line in I. reticulatus), with seven rows of 10–30 denticles each. Corniculi about twice as long as their basal widths, with pointed tips, subparallel or slightly divergent distally. Palp tarsal apotele two-tined. Palp tarsus with a macroseta. Cheliceral digits of similar lengths; fixed digit with 3–4 teeth (six teeth in I. corticalis Evans) in addition to apical tooth; movable digit with 2–3 teeth in addition to apical tooth.
Idiosoma. Ovoid. Dorsum: podonotal and opisthonotal shields fused and covering whole dorsal surface of idiosoma, well ornamented, without incisions at region of fusion, transverse and nearly straight lines, delineated strip along lateral margins (strip present in I. gibbus (Berlese), I. walteri) or posterior tubercles; anterior end of dorsal shield strongly deflexed, partially or completely concealing j 1 in dorsal view. No supernumerary setae on dorsal shield or on unsclerotised ventrolateral cuticle. Podonotal region of shield with 18 pairs of setae. Opisthonotal region of shield with 14 pairs of setae (S2 absent). Unsclerotised ventrolateral cuticle with 9–11 pairs of setae, including r3, which is similar to neighbouring setae; UR setae absent. Dorsal and lateral setae of idiosoma of similar lengths, short, acicular and smooth. Venter: presternal platelets indistinct. Sternal shield with three pairs of setae of similar lengths (st1–st3) and three pairs of lyrifissures (iv1–iv3; the latter on slightly concave to truncate posterior shield margin); st2 equidistant to st1 and st3. Seta st4 inserted on unsclerotised cuticle. Genital shield narrow and elongate, not including iv5 or st5; posteriorly convex to truncate. One or two pairs of roundish to ellipsoid metapodal plates. No platelets between genital and anal shields (in some species, some of the opisthogastric lyrifissures apparently inserted on platelets). Opisthogaster usually with nine pairs of setae on unsclerotised cuticle, in addition to circumanal setae; anal shield small, variously shaped, but usually roundish; para-anal setae inserted at level of mid-length of anal opening or slightly posterior to it, slightly shorter than postanal seta (only about half as long as post-anal in I. reticulatus), the latter not stout. Anal opening small in some species and relatively large in others, 1/3 to 1/6 of shield length, at shield centre or anterior to it. Distinct remnants of endopodal shield restricted to triangular plates between coxae II–III and III–IV (slight widening of sternal shield between coxae I–II in I. californicus Chant and I. gibbus suggests a fusion of anterior end of endopodal shield with sternal shield). Exopodal shield broad beside coxa IV, extending to mid-level of posterior coxal margin.
Peritreme. Extending from stigma to region between coxa I and j1, with anterior end sharply recurved posteriorly; except for a short subapical section, not visible dorsally; with post-stigmatic extension in some species; usually much wider than diameter of stigma. Peritrematic shield wide, fused with dorsal shield at level of z1 and broadly fused with exopodal shield beside coxa IV.
Legs. All legs with pretarsi. Setation of legs I–IV, genu: 12, 9 (or 10), 7, 7; tibia: 12, 9, 7, 7. Leg II not distinctly different from other legs. Legs without macrosetae. Tarsi II–IV with one (al1) or two (al1, pl1) subapical setae very slender and elongate; setae ad2 and pd2 not elongate.
Spermathecal apparatus. Usually indistinct.
MALE
Gnathosoma similar to female, but fixed cheliceral digit with 2–3 teeth in addition to apical tooth and movable digit with 1–2 teeth in addition to apical tooth; spermatodactyl about as long as movable digit, almost straight, tapering slightly distally. Dorsal shield with ornamentation similar to female, but with one less pair of marginal setae, all of which also on the lightly sclerotised ventrolateral cuticle. Shape of dorsal setae similar to female. Presternal platelets absent. Sternogenital shield with five pairs of setae (st1–st5; missing st 1 in I. poststigmatus) and three pairs of lyrifissures (iv1–iv3); not fused with ventrianal or peritrematic shields; posterior margin truncate or undulate. Endopodal shield not discernable or variously developed as shown by the variable extent of projections between coxae II–III and III–IV; beside coxa IV, it may be distinguished as an elongate plate only anteriorly connected to the sternal shield. Distinct metapodal plates absent. Ventrianal shield semicircular, covering basically all opisthogaster, merging or not to fused peritrematic-exopodal shields, bearing 6–9 pairs of setae in addition to circumanal setae; opisthogastric setae may be slightly longer than in female. Peritreme similar to female, also with or without post-stigmatic extension. Legs without spine-shaped setae.
description: Published as part of De Moraes, Gilberto J., Britto, Erika P. J., Mineiro, Jefferson L. De C. & Halliday, Bruce, 2016, Catalogue of the mite families Ascidae Voigts & Oudemans, Blattisociidae Garman and Melicharidae Hirschmann (Acari: Mesostigmata), pp. 1-299 in Zootaxa 4112 (1) on pages 24-25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4112.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/399477