Pedrocortesella gunjina Hunt 1996, n.sp.
Creators: name: Hunt, Glenn S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1996
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Sarcoptiformes
Licnodamaeidae
Pedrocortesella
Pedrocortesella gunjina

description: <i>Pedrocortesella gunjina</i> n.sp. Figs 22, 23, 24 C-D <b>Type material.</b> Western Australia: HOLOTYPE adult, WAM, SEM stub no. <i>S/158</i> (ill.) (specimen mounted on venter, dorsal side up), Gunjin Gully, Rackets Gully, Darling Range near Perth, 31°59'S 116°08'E, lM. Waldock, 27 January 1988. PARATYPE adults. WAM, SEM stub no. SI158 (with holotype), same data, 2 adults. <b>Diagnosis.</b> Body small-medium, length about 400-450 flm; scalps rarely (if at all) carried by adult; sensillus with long flattened tuberculate blade; notogaster anterodorsally with mesal carina, reticulate-alveolate, with caudal notch when viewed from above, 5 pairs of notogastral setae, 3 pairs anterior to fissura <i>ip;</i> epimera III-IV strongly convex anterior to genital valves and tending to overhang them; genital and anal vestibules close; genitoanal chaetotaxy 7:1:2:3, genital setae in slightly arcuate file, level of insertion of <i>ad3</i> adjacent to posterior half of anal valve; claw stalk long. Description ADULT: <i>Body:</i> brown; length of type specimens 430 <i>/lm, 450 /lm. Cerotegument:</i> body generally with thin veneer of cerotegument; reticulations on prodorsum and notogaster and rim of bothridium highlighted with crests of cerotegument (Fig. 22B-D). Setae <i>ro</i> and <i>le</i> and notogastral setae without obvious cerotegument. Legs with cerotegument capping the reticulate surface ornamentation which is of much lower relief than in <i>P. propinqua. Prodorsum:</i> integument reticulate-alveolate, strong transverse carina both anterior and posterior to median transverse groove; no carina between <i>le</i> and <i>ro</i> though ridge of stronger reticulations at level of <i>le; le</i> dorsolateral, distance between them about 0.75 distance between <i>ro,</i> arising from small pit, <i>ro</i> ventrolateral. Pedotectal tooth similar to <i>P. propinqua.</i> Bothridium abutting notogaster, (Fig. 22B,F), wall subcircular and depressed anterolaterally, posterolateral carina weak, situated close to notogaster; sensillus with long flattened tuberculate blade (Fig. 22B,E), length subequal to interbothridial distance. <i>in</i> small, set about 0.5 bothridial diameter from bothridium near edge of dorsosejugal furrow, spiniform but largely encased in cerotegument (Fig. 22F). <i>Exuvial scalps:</i> none seen. <i>Notogaster:</i> oval, length:width 330:240. Intramarginal depression oval but interrupted anteriorly but strong mesal carina. Notogaster reticulate-alveolate (Fig. 22A); posterior margin strongly invaginate when viewed from above, with linear ridges rather than mesal carina when viewed posteriorly (Fig. 22E). Fissura <i>ia</i> and <i>im</i> subparallel and <i>ip</i> oblique to sagittal plane; pore to <i>gla</i> easily seen posterior to <i>im;</i> 5 pairs of short notogastral setae arising from small pits (Fig. 22D), <i>hi</i> widely separated, each located just inside posterior margin on slight convexities flanking invagination; <i>pi</i> inserted midheight on posterior flank, similar distance apart to <i>hi; lpx, p2x</i> and <i>p3x</i> arise just inside posterolateral flank, their insertions visible from above (Fi. 13D), <i>lpx</i> closest to fissura <i>ip,</i> inserted anterior to it (Fig. 22D). <i>Gnathosoma:</i> pedipa1p tarsus with setae <i>(vt)</i> and <i>I"</i> with long barbs, <i>cm</i> smooth; apophysis supporting seta <i>acm</i> moderate height; solenidion <i>omega</i> almost reaching to base of <i>acm.</i> Rutella basally with strong concave flexure and lateral buttressing, with pointed mesad process (Fig. 23C, arrow); transverse striations absent. <i>Epimeral region:</i> strongly convex immediately anterior to and tending to overhang genital valves. <i>Genitoanal region:</i> separation of anal and genital vestibules relatively narrow with deep transverse grooves and a narrow isthmus between the vestibules (Fig. 23A). Ventral plate reticulate-alveolate. Genitoanal chaetotaxy 7:1:2:3; genital setae in slightly arcuate file, <i>gi</i> subequal to other setae, inserted posterior to inner anterior corner, not in marginal notch; g5 situated at about 0.5 valve length, g7 inserted anterior to inner posterior corner, not in marginal notch; setae <i>ag</i> inserted at level posterior 10 <i>g</i> 6; setae <i>adi</i> distinctly postanal, more so than <i>P. propinqua, ad3</i> level in posterior half of anal valve. <i>Legs.</i> Distal apophysis of tibia overlaps about 50% of tarsus (Fig. 25D). Tarsal cluster of leg I placed distodorsally on apophysis, above and slightly proximal to setae <i>tc; fi", omega 1</i> and 2 seem to arise from top of apophysis and not enclosed by distinct rimes) but some evidence of damage: no distal recess for receiving retracted unguinal complex, stalk long. <b>Comments.</b> The strong fold of epimera III-IV which tends to overhang the genital valves suggests that <i>P gunjina</i> is closely related to <i>P obesa,</i> despite the presence of punctations in the notogaster of the latter species. A single specimen from Coogee, a seaside settlement just south of Perth, is very similar to <i>P. gunjina,</i> except that the notogaster is punctate and the prodorsum lacks a transverse carina anterior to the transverse groove. It is somewhat intermediate in morphology between <i>P. gunjina</i> and <i>P. obesa.</i> It is not assigned to a species in this work. <b>Etymology.</b> The specific epithet refers to the type locality, Gunjin Gully. <b>Distribution.</b> Darling Range, Western Australia.
description: Published as part of <i>Hunt, Glenn S., 1996, A review of the genus Hexachaetoniella Paschoal in Australia (Acarina: Cryptostigmata: Pedrocortesellidae), pp. 223-286 in Records of the Australian Museum 48 (3)</i> on pages 255-256, DOI: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.48.1996.431, http://zenodo.org/record/4654998