Trachyuropoda darwini Kontschán & Starý 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kontschán, Jenő
name: Starý, Josef
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Mesostigmata
Trachyuropodidae
Trachyuropoda
Trachyuropoda darwini

description: 3.1.1.1. Trachyuropoda darwini sp. nov.
(Figures 1–5)
Material examined: Holotype: Female. Galápagos Islands, Floreana Island, Asilo de la Paz, 17 May 1975, near spring in forest, sample of decaying wood and fern rhizosphere near spring, leg. H. Franz (HNHM). Paratypes: 20 females, 8 males, and 3 deutonymphs, locality and date same as in holotype (ISB).
Description: Female. Length of idiosoma 950–1000 µm, width 750–780 µm (n = 21). Shape oval, posterior margin rounded.
Dorsal idiosoma (Figures 1a and 4a): Marginal and dorsal shields completely separated. Dorsal shield hypertrichous, with 2 different types of setae. One of them is T-shaped, with a short stem and a long and serrate crossbar (Figure 1b), these setae situated on the central area of dorsal shield. The other type of setae wide and spine-like (ca. 36–40 µm) (Figure 1c); these can be found on the marginal surface of dorsal shield. Dorsal shield bearing 1 pair of deep, U-like transversal furrows bordered with (ca. 28–32 µm) marginally pilose, spine-like setae (Figures 4b and 4c). Dorsal shield covered by alveolar pits. Margin of dorsal shield strongly sclerotized. Marginal shield without ornamentation, marginal setae spine-like (ca. 22–23 µm) and situated on platelet-like, strongly sclerotized surface (Figure 1d).
* Correspondence: jkontschan@gmail.com
Ventral idiosoma (Figures 1e and 4d): Surface of sternal shield smooth, several T-shaped sternal setae can be observed. Ventral shield covered by alveolar pits and bearing numerous T-shaped setae. Setae around anal opening similar in shape to ventral setae. Stigmata situated between coxae II and III, peritremes M-shaped. Genital shield linguliform without apical process, and its surface smooth. Base of tritosternum narrow, tritosternal laciniae divided into 4 apically serrate branches (Figure 2a). Pedofossae deep, their surface smooth, except the separated furrows for tarsi IV, which are ornamented by oval pits.
Gnathosoma (Figures 2b and 4e): Corniculi horn-like, internal malae divided into several marginally pilose branches. Hypostomal setae are as follows: h1 smooth and situated near the anterior margin of gnathosoma (not clearly visible, covered by branches of internal malae), h2 short (ca. 40 µm), h3 long (ca. 145 µm), and h4 long (ca. 73 µm), each marginally serrate. Epistome subtriangular, margins basally serrate, apically pilose (Figure 2c). Chelicerae not clearly visible. Trochanter of palps bearing a short and a long seta, each smooth. Other setae on palps smooth.
Male. Length of idiosoma 980–990 µm, width 710–740 µm (n = 8). Shape oval, posterior margin of idiosoma rounded.
Dorsal side: Well-sclerotized ridges and bulges as in female.
Ventral side: Sternal region of hologastric shield strongly sclerotized near anterior margin of genital opening. All sternal setae short, smooth, and T-shaped. Ornamentation of sternal shield absent (Figure 3a). Ventrianal area of hologastric shield with several T-shaped setae and with alveolar ornamentation on the anal region. Adanal and postanal setae smooth, short, and T-shaped. Legs and gnathosoma similar to that of female.
Deutonymph. Length of idiosoma 880–950 µm, width 640–680 µm (n = 3). Shape oval, posterior margin rounded. Dorsal shield scutiform, bearing maculate ornamentation and T-shaped setae (Figures 3b and 5a), U-like transversal furrow bordered with marginally pilose setae similar to the adults (Figure 3c). Several quadrangular platelets can be observed on submarginal area, none of them bearing setae, several irregular platelets bearing T-shaped setae present on marginal area (Figure 3c), as precursors of marginal shield of the adults. Sternal shield short, bearing oval pits, its posterior margin reaching to the anterior margin of coxae IV. Ventrianal shield subtriangular and ornamented by maculate sculptural pattern (Figures 3d and 5b).
Protonymphs and larvae are unknown.
Etymology: We dedicate the new species to the famous scientist Charles Darwin, who established the hypothesis of evolution based on his observations on the fauna of the Galápagos Islands.
Notes: The new species belongs to the Trachyuropoda arculata -group (Hirschmann, 1976), which consists of 4 Neotropical species (Trachyuropoda arculata Hirschmann, 1975; Trachyuropoda difoveolata Hirschmann, 1975; Trachyuropoda similiarculata Hirschmann, 1975; and Trachyuropoda newtoni Kontschán, 2010). Their common characters are the 2 U-shaped dorsal cavities on the level of coxae IV. The distinguishing characteristics are shown in Table 1.
description: Published as part of Kontschán, Jenő & Starý, Josef, 2013, Three new Trachyuropoda (Acari: Uropodina: Trachyuropodidae) species from the Neotropical region, pp. 7-14 in Turkish Journal of Zoology 37 (1) on pages 7-11, DOI: 10.3906/zoo-1204-24, http://zenodo.org/record/11042925