Unionicola (Edwardsatax) crassipalpis Walter 1915
Creators: name: Smit, Harry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Trombidiformes
Unionicolidae
Unionicola
Unionicola crassipalpis

description: Unionicola (Edwardsatax) crassipalpis Walter, 1915
Unionicola crassipalpis Walter, 1915: 104; Wiles 1990: 280.
Unionicola (Pentatax) crassipalpis K.O. Viets 1980: 151, 1981: 334; Cook 1986: 162. Unionicola (Edwardsatax) crassipalpis Vidrine 1992: 464; Wiles 1997: 409; Harvey 1998: 143.
Material examined. Northern Territory: 2 males, Jim Jim Billabong at crossing with Kakadu Highway, Kakadu NP, 22 July 1994; 1 male, Mardugal Billabong, Kakadu NP, 21 July 1994; 6 males, 5 females, pond in Jim Jim Creek, at Jim Jim Crossing, Kakadu NP, 22 July 1994; 1 male, 17 females, pond in Jim Jim Creek, near Jim Jim campground, Kakadu NP, 23 July 1994; 1 nymph, pool near Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu NP, 23 July 1994; 1 male, Plunge pool Barramundie Creek, Kakadu NP, 13° 19’07.56”S 132° 26’16.61”E, 24 July 1994; 1 male, Barramundie Creek, Kakadu NP, 24 July 1994; 1 male, 1 female, 1 nymph, plunge pool Gunlom Falls, Kakadu NP, 25 July 1994; 1 male, Lily Pond Falls, Katherine Gorge NP (= Nitmiluk NP), 14° 18.801 S 132° 28.326 E, 27 July 1994; 1 male, 5 females, Plunge pool Edith Falls, Katherine Gorge NP (= Nitmiluk NP), 14° 10.899 S 132° 11.342 E, 30 July 1994; 1 female, Manton Dam, 12° 51.726 S 131° 0 7.148 E, 1 August 1994; 4 males, 3 females, waterhole Ormiston Gorge, Ormiston Gorge NP, 6 August 1994; 2 nymph, Crossing Pool, Millstream-Chichester NP, 21° 34’55.16”S 117° 5’37.72”E, 16 August 1994; 2 males, pond Snake Creek, Millstream-Chichester NP, 21° 20’39.86”S 117° 14’30.34´E, 17 August 1994; 2 males, Florence Creek downstream of Florence Falls, Litchfield NP, 13° 0 5.885 S 130° 46.999 E, 25 September 2005; 1 nymph, Walker Creek, Litchfield NP, 13° 0 4.694 S 130° 41.929 E, 25 September 2005; 1 female, Kambolgie Creek, Kakadu NP, 13° 30.169 S 132° 23.688 E, 30 September 2005; 1 female, pools Waterfall Creek, upstream of falls, Kakadu NP, 13° 25.762 S 132° 25.089 E, 1 October 2005; 2 males, 4 females, Plunge pool Edith Falls, Nitmiluk NP, 14° 10.899 S 132° 11.342 E, 2 October 2005; 4 males, 6 females, 1 nymph, Edith River downstream of plunge pool, Nitmiluk NP, 14° 10.885 S 132° 11. 271 E, 2 October 2005; 2 males, 1 female, Lily Pond, Katherine Gorge, Nitmiluk NP, 14° 18.801 S 132° 28.326 E, 3 October 2005; 4 males, 6 females, Campbell Springs, 38 km E of Victoria River Roadhouse, Gregory NP, 15° 29.749 S 131° 23.328 E, 4 October 2005; 1 female, Roper River, 14° 57.111 S 133° 13.401 E, 6 October 2005. Queensland: 1 female, Fitzroy River, Rockhampton, 1 February 1982, leg. A.P. Mackay; 2 females, Hann Crossing (stagnant), Lakefield NP, 14° 45’ 57.30” S 144° 04’ 46.60” E, 4 September 2000; 1 female, Shallow pool along road to Hanush Waterhole, Lakefield NP, 4 September 2000; 1 male, Catfish Waterhole, Lakefield NP, 15° 3’ 57.50” S 144° 17’ 8.43” E, 4 September 2000; 2 males, Cockatoo Creek, Cape York Peninsula, 11 September 2000; 1 female, Lake Moondarra, Mt Isa, 20° 35.274 S 139° 34.357 E, 8 October 2005; 3 males, 15 females, Porcupine Creek, Porcupine Gorge NP, 20° 21.039 S 144° 27.852 E, 23 October 2005; 1 nymph, small lake S of Biggenden, along road Biggenden-Maryborough, 25° 33.583 S 152° 0 7.345 E, 1 November 2005. Western Australia: 1 male, Fortescue Falls (pools), Hamersley Range NP, 22° 28’39.18 “S 118° 33’3.04” E, 11 August 1994; 1 female, Pond Dales Gorge, Hamersley Range NP, 22° 28’37.53’’ S 118° 33’26.66’’ E, 12 August 1994; 3 males, 3 females, pond Kalamina Gorge near falls, Hamersley Range NP, 22° 24’48.08” S 118° 24’34.50” E, 13 August 1994; 1 male, 7 females, 1 nymph, Pond Knox Gorge, Hamersley Range NP, 22° 22’12.39” S 118° 17’51.81”E, 13 August 1994; 1 female, pool Joffre Gorge, Hamersley Range NP, 22° 23’32.77”S 118° 16’7.35”E, 13 August 1994; 3 females, Python Pool, Millstream-Chichester NP, 21° 20’0.88”S 117° 14’18.89”E, 17 August 1994; 2 males, 5 females, Ashburton River at crossing with North West Coastal Highway, 22° 32’ 38.17” S 115° 29’ 54.14” E, 18 August 1994; 3 males, 1 female, Fortescue River, at crossing with North West Coastal Highway, 21° 17’36.95”S 116° 8’38.63”E, 18 August 1994; 1 female, Cockatoo Creek at crossing with Great Northern Highway, E of Broome, 8 September 1998; 1 male, pool downstream of Manning Gorge, at campground, The Kimberley, 12 September 1998; 11 males, 21 females, pool Galvans Gorge, The Kimberley, 12 September 1998; 1 male, 5 females, pool Manning Gorge Falls, The Kimberley, 13 September 1998; 3 females, Russ Creek at crossing with Gibb River Road, The Kimberley, 14 September 1998; 1 male, 3 females, Jack’s Waterhole, along Gibb River Road, The Kimberley, 14 September 1998; 1 male, 3 females, Miners’s Pool, Drysdale River Homestead, The Kimberley, 14 September 1998; 1 female, Lake Kununurra, 10 km SE of Kununurra, 15° 52’7.45 “S 128° 45’46.75” E, 19 September 1998; 2 males, 2 females, plunge pool The Grotto, S of Wyndham, 20 September 1998; 3 males, 4 females, Palm Springs, S of Halls Creek, 25 September 1998; 1 male, 1 female, pool Saw Pit Gorge, S of Halls Creek, 25 September 1998; 1 male, 3 females, Geikie Gorge, western part, Geikie Gorge NP, 18° 7’23.92”S 125° 39’42.47”E, 28 September 1998; 1 male, pool W of Tunnel Creek, Tunnel Creek NP, 30 September 1998. New South Wales: 2 males, 3 females, Lake Ainsworth, N of Ballina, 28° 47.053 S 153° 35.569 E, 8 November 2005.
Remarks. Unionicola crassipalpis is a widespread species, known from New Caledonia, New Guinea and Sulawesi. Within Australia, the species has been reported from Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory (Viets 1981, Harvey 1998), and is reported here for the first time from Western Australia.
description: Published as part of Smit, Harry, 2008, Australian Unionicola (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Unionicolidae), with the description of two new subgenera and eight new species, pp. 1-26 in Zootaxa 1674 on pages 2-3, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.180257